The Oklahoma City Thunder keep producing players who can find a lane elsewhere.
That’s the reality of being this deep. The roster is so loaded, and the money gets tight enough, that useful pieces eventually get moved out.
Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe are already gone for that reason. Ousmane Dieng is another example, signing a three-year, $17.5 million extension today with the Milwaukee Bucks and now getting a chance to carve out a real rotation spot on a more open roster.
Branden Carlson might be next.
Carlson spent the last two seasons on a two-way deal with Oklahoma City, and he never got past the fringe of the rotation. He played 7.7 minutes per game in 32 games as a rookie, then 11.6 minutes per game in 42 games last season. For the Thunder, he was a development project more than a fixture.
Now he’s moving on. Carlson agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, as first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The move gives the 7-footer a fresh shot, even if Portland’s frontcourt isn’t exactly wide open on paper.
The Blazers re-signed Robert Williams III today, and they also have Donovan Clingan locked in as their starter with Yang Hansen on the roster. Still, there’s room here if things break the way they usually do.
Williams will miss time. Hansen, as a rookie, showed very little NBA-caliber play.
That’s where Carlson comes in. He’s spent two seasons in Oklahoma City’s system, learning behind Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams.
He arrived in the league with a long college résumé from five seasons at Utah, and his game kept growing there, especially as a shooter and offensive threat. He was 25 when he entered the league and is already 27 now, which makes the upside more modest than most young bigs.
But there’s still a path. If the floor spacing he showed in college shows up again, and if his size and physicality translate in the right moments, Portland may have found a usable NBA big on the cheap.
And if that happens, it will be one more reminder of just how much talent Oklahoma City has had stashed in its system all along.
In Other News...
Thunder Bringing Back Kenrich Williams Says More Than It Seems
Kenrich Williams is coming back to Oklahoma City, a familiar move for a Thunder team that has spent the summer balancing continuity with the realities of a title-contending roster. The veteran forward has been part of the organization since the 2020 Steven Adams trade, and his return gives the Thunder another trusted piece who knows the system, the standards and the day-to-day expectations inside the building.
The deal also says something about where Oklahoma City is willing to go to keep that stability intact. After declining Williams team option for the 2026-27 season, the Thunder agreed to a new one-year contract that should help sort out the final roster spot, even if it edges them further into the luxury-tax picture. For a team in this position, those kinds of decisions are rarely just about one player. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]