The Oklahoma City Thunder made a set of roster calls on Jared McCain, Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic while navigating a season already battered by injuries.
McCain has quickly become one of the team’s most useful pieces since Oklahoma City landed him in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers last season. He’s giving the Thunder 10.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.7 minutes a night, bringing scoring, pace and energy off the bench. With the roster stretched thin, he’s also been pushed into the starting lineup.
Sorber, taken by Oklahoma City with the No. 15 pick last year, still has not played because of knee injuries.
The Thunder also declined the fourth-year option on Topic, a move that will make him a free agent. “This is pretty telling as to Topic's status on the team between now and the trade deadline,” noted Siegel on X. Oklahoma City drafted Topic with the No. 12 pick in 2024, but his career has been slowed by multiple health issues, including testicular cancer.
Those decisions come as the Thunder try to survive without Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace, all of whom are dealing with serious injuries.
Oklahoma City has dropped two straight after opening 4-0. The latest setback came Saturday at Toyota Center, where the Thunder fell to the Houston Rockets, 119-98. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26 points, four rebounds and three assists, Isaiah Hartenstein added 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and McCain chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Thunder head to Rocket Arena on Monday to face the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In Other News...
Thunder Head Into Cleveland With A Problem They Can't Ignore
The Thunders trip to Cleveland comes with the kind of injury backdrop that can reshape a game plan before the opening tip. Oklahoma City has been forced to navigate a rotation thinned by significant absences, including two All-NBA selections and three former All-Defense players, and the ripple effects have shown up everywhere from the starting group to the bench. Even with the roster stretched, the Thunder still have to keep moving forward, and a meeting with the Cavaliers at Rocket Arena offers another test of how well they can manage the load.
There are still some encouraging signs in the recovery process, with Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren all working back from injuries and carrying expected return timelines. For a team trying to stay organized through an extended stretch of uncertainty, those updates matter almost as much as the matchup itself. Cleveland has its own injury list to sort through, including three players currently listed and Peyton Watson marked questionable, but Oklahoma Citys bigger concern is whether it can keep absorbing these hits without losing too much ground in the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Just Sent A Clear Signal About Their Center Rotation
The Thunder have already made one quiet but telling move in the middle of their center picture, exercising Thomas Sorbers rookie-scale team option even though he has yet to play a game for the club. It is the kind of decision that says plenty about how Oklahoma City is thinking about its frontcourt depth, especially with Chet Holmgren sidelined by a knee injury but still around the team in a supporting role.
At the same time, the bigger roster question is getting harder to ignore. Isaiah Hartenstein signed a multi-year extension, but the Thunder are also weighing the long-term cap picture and how much room they want to keep tied up in the center spot as younger pieces emerge. Sorbers option pickup fits that larger calculation, and it leaves the next step in Oklahoma Citys rotation planning very much in play. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Could Face A Lineup Twist Against Short-Handed Thunder
Oklahoma City will be without Alex Caruso again, as the veteran guard has been ruled out for a second straight game after the ankle sprain he suffered against the Suns. For a Thunder team already dealing with a short-handed look, losing Caruso takes away one of the more disruptive defenders in the rotation and leaves another gap to manage on the perimeter.
Cleveland, meanwhile, is monitoring Peyton Watson, who is listed as questionable with right hamstring soreness ahead of the matchup. If Watson cannot go, the Cavaliers may turn to Mario Hezonja in the starting lineup, adding a potential wrinkle to a game that already has a different feel because of the injury report on both sides. [Read more 🡒]