Thunder Sign Dalen Terry as Injuries Pile Up

The Thunder needed bodies, and they found one. Oklahoma City agreed to a two-year deal with veteran swingman Dalen Terry, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday morning, filling the last open roster spot on a team that has been hammered by injuries early in the season.

The timing tells you everything. Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace are facing potential season-ending surgeries, and Chet Holmgren is out two-plus months with a small patellar tendon tear. That is three key pieces of the rotation gone, two of them starters on a team built around depth, and Oklahoma City is now asking its depth to hold the line.

Who Is Dalen Terry?

Terry is a 6-foot-6 wing who enters his fifth NBA season. The Bulls took him 18th overall in 2022, and he has also played for the 76ers. Last season he appeared in 48 combined games for Chicago and Philadelphia, averaging 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds, per ESPN, and he has averaged 3.5 points across 218 career games.

He spent the offseason training with the Warriors and went to training camp with Golden State last month before landing back on the market. At 24, he is young enough to still have room to grow, and he brings length and energy on the defensive end, which is exactly what a banged-up rotation needs right now.

Why Not Ochai Agbaji?

The Thunder had agreed to a deal with free agent Ochai Agbaji, but they paused those plans after the Holmgren injury and decided to re-evaluate the final spot, per ESPN. Terry is the answer they landed on.

It is a low-risk move. A two-year deal for a 24-year-old former first-round pick gives the Thunder a body now and a little flexibility later, and it keeps them from burning a bigger asset in a trade while the injured guys work back.

Thunder Still Have Shai

The good news for OKC fans is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still rolling. He dropped 43 in Monday's 117-112 win at Cleveland, and the Thunder host the Cavaliers again on Wednesday night at Paycom Center. With Williams, Wallace and Holmgren all out, more of the creation and the scoring falls on Shai, so the Smacktok lean is higher on his points against Cleveland. Terry will not be asked to carry anything. He just needs to defend, run the floor and soak up minutes until the cavalry gets healthy. For a team missing this much, a few solid nights from a guy like Terry could be the difference in November.