The Oklahoma City Thunder are living the high life right now.
The team just won its first championship since moving to Oklahoma after knocking off the Indiana Pacers in seven games. It was a total team effort, but star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a truly remarkable season.
Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP Award for his stellar regular season, as well as the NBA scoring title. Then, Gilgeous-Alexander won the Finals MVP after averag1ing just under 30 points per game in the 2024-25 playoffs.
However, when you have a roster as good as Oklahoma City’s, some tough decisions have to be mad. Every player on the Thunder’s roster is under contract for the 2025-26 season, so it was known the team would have to make a move or two to accommodate draft picks or any free agent additions.
On Saturday, the team made a move to add one roster spot, and it was a surprising one. Dillon Jones, who was just selected in the first-round of the 2024 NBA Draft, was sent to the Washington Wizards along with a 2029 second-round pick in exchange for Colby Jones.
On the surface, this trade may seem confusing. After all, the Thunder just traded five second-round picks to move up and select Jones last year. However, Jones was unable to carve out a role as a rookie on the deepest team in the league, and clearly the team didn’t see a future for the Weber State product.
Soon after the trade was announced, it was also announced that the Thunder would waive Colby Jones. With that move, the team opened up one roster spot and moved to $9.5 million under the luxury tax.
The team will reportedly use that added roster spot on rookie Thomas Sorber. Sorber, a big man out of Georgetown, was added with the No. 15 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and could be the center of the future in OKC.
As for the team’s second-round pick, Brooks Barnhizer, it has been reported that the team will use one of its three two-way contracts on the forward.
So, essentially, the team still has a full roster when you account for Sorber. Ousmane Dieng is another player to watch, as he failed to earn a spot in the rotation and thus would be the most likely player to be moved if the team wants to add a free agent.
Then again, the team may not feel the need to add a free agent, considering this core just won it all.
