2020 NBA Free Agency

Free agency was very awkward for the Thunder this year because instead of going out and signing players, they kept trading away big-name players for draft picks and cap space. They did not really make any signings as a result but acquired Joshua Gray, Kenrich Williams, and Zylan Cheatham from the Pelicans, all of which agreed to three-year deals before the trade.

Cheatham and Gray were both waived by the Thunder after they were acquired, adding on to Oklahoma City’s Dead Cap for the upcoming season, but they did keep Kenrich Williams for now. Over the last two seasons with New Orleans, Williams has played in 85 games and has shown his ability to be a versatile wing player who plays on both ends of the court. His contract is guaranteed for this season, but after this season, the Thunder could waive him at no cost to them. 

The Thunder also went out and signed former Pelicans’ guard, Frank Jackson to a two-year contract, with the first-year being partially guaranteed and the second-year of the contract being non-guaranteed. Jackson will look to earn his roster spot throughout training camp as the Thunder have about 4-5 point guards all competing for the same spot. 

The goal in free agency for the Thunder was to not be spenders and give out non-guaranteed contracts to keep their cap space available for future years. At the conclusion of this season, if both Frank Jackson and Kenrich Williams make the roster, it is anticipated that the Thunder will terminate their contracts early at no cost to them, freeing up a couple million in cap space. 

Given that the Thunder will be about $20M under the salary cap this season and then have about $70-80M to spend next free agency, we can definitely expect the Thunder to go after some of the biggest names that will be on the free agent market next offseason.