The Thunder are bringing back a familiar face.
After turning down his team option earlier in the week, Kenrich Williams has reached an agreement to re-sign with Oklahoma City, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. The new deal is for one year and $5MM, down from the roughly $7.2MM he would have made on the 2026/27 team option, giving the Thunder a little cap relief in the process.
Williams has turned into far more than a salary-matching piece from the 2020 trade that sent Steven Adams from OKC to New Orleans. Josh Gray and Zylan Cheatham, the other players involved in that sign-and-trade, were waived soon after, but Williams stayed put and carved out a lasting role with the franchise. In Oklahoma City, he’s long been known as “Kenny Hustle,” and he’s become a trusted locker-room presence along the way.
His minutes have dipped as the Thunder have kept adding talent and depth, but Williams still found his way into the rotation most nights for the 2024/25 championship team and again for this season’s 64-win group. Over 56 games in ’25/26, including two starts, the 6’7″ combo forward put up 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists while playing 15.3 minutes per contest.
Before the agreement, Oklahoma City had one open spot on its projected 15-man roster, so Williams appears lined up to occupy that final opening. The move also pushes the Thunder further into luxury-tax and second-apron territory.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the front office is done. Oklahoma City could still make additional moves that trim its projected tax bill and bring the club back below the second apron. But this signing also reads like a clear sign the Thunder are comfortable building around a roster they believe can chase another title.
In Other News...
Thunder Starting Five Suddenly Feels Less Settled Than Fans Expected
The Thunders offseason has already done plenty to reshape the depth chart around its core, and the front office has not been shy about making moves that hint at how the next roster will be built. Oklahoma City drafted three players, dealt away a pair of bench scorers, kept Isaiah Hartenstein in place and picked up Luguentz Dorts team option, all while keeping the focus on a competitive group centered on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Even with that core firmly established, the opening-night starting five is not as locked in as it once looked. Projections have Cason Wallace in the fifth spot alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Holmgren and Hartenstein, but the Thunder still have enough flexibility, and enough young talent, that the final call could shift as the roster settles and roles sort themselves out. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Just Got Another Reminder Why Hartenstein Mattered So Much
The Thunders frontcourt has been through enough early uncertainty to make every layer of depth feel important, and Thomas Sorbers latest setback only sharpened that reality. The rookie recently had a minor arthroscopic procedure on his right knee tied to the ACL injury that already slowed him, and he is expected to get back to activity in about a month.
That timeline does little to ease the broader concern, especially with Chet Holmgren among the big men who have missed time and left Oklahoma City leaning harder on what it can trust inside. It is a reminder of why Isaiah Hartenstein became such a central piece of the offseason plan, with the Thunder clearly valuing the security he brings to a group that has already had to absorb too many frontcourt variables. [Read more 🡒]