The Oklahoma City Thunder made another move near the bottom of the roster, according to Yahoo’s Keith Smith.
Smith reported the Thunder signed Melvin Frazier Jr. and waived Antonius Cleveland.
Cleveland’s signing was first reported by Smith on Wednesday. On Thursday, Smith reported he had been waived to make room for Frazier.
The quick turnaround with his signing and waiving was to acquire his rights for a G League roster spot, according to Smith. Cleveland, 26, has played for the Dallas Mavericks and the Atlanta Hawks since going undrafted in 2017. He has appeared in 28 NBA games between the two teams.
A handful of moves like this will happen throughout the preseason, even this short one. These are generally designed around getting a player's Affiliate Player rights for the G-League squad.
OKC is going to churn the bottom of their roster quite a bit this offseason as well. https://t.co/gNDq5xxrpF
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 4, 2020
Frazier, 24, was a second-round pick by the Orlando Magic in 2018. The shooting guard appeared in 29 NBA games for the team over the last two seasons, averaging about two points on 40% shooting in six minutes per game.
Over 23 games in the G League last season, Frazier averaged 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.2 steals in 37 minutes per game. He shot 50.6% from the field and 32% from deep.
The year before, he shot 45.4% from the field and 38.5% from deep in the G League.
