Oklahoma City Thunder Sign Former Kings Forward
On October 2, the Oklahoma City Thunder waived Sterling Brown and they signed Sacha Killeya-Jones in his place.
However, Killeya-Jones’ stint with the Thunder has been short-lived, as the team announced on Tuesday that they have waived Killeya-Jones and have signed Robert Woodard II.
Drafted 40th overall in 2020, Woodard played in 13 games during the 2020-21 season and then 12 games this past season with the Sacramento Kings before being waived in February. Acquired by the Iowa Wolves in the G League following his departure from Sacramento, Woodard was traded to the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliates.
While the terms of his new deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder have not been released, Robert Woodard has likely signed a training camp deal with the team, that way they can retain his G League rights for the upcoming season.
Woodard, 23, has struggled to find playing time early on in his career and has barely been utilized at the NBA level. In the G League last year, he averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in about 27.5 minutes per game.
Making an eight-player trade with the Houston Rockets recently, the Thunder do not have any availability on their open roster, hence why they had recently waived Sterling Brown.
It is certainly possible that Woodard could impress the Thunder over the next week in training camp and possibly earn himself some recognition, but both of the team’s two-way roster spots are occupied at the moment, which leads many to believe that Robert Woodard II will end up back in the G League with Oklahoma City.
Coming off a 24-58 season, the Thunder remain one of the league’s younger teams looking to develop further. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander highlights this roster filled with potential and Oklahoma City will begin the 2022-23 season on October 19 when they go on the road to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
