Contract Breakdown: OKC Thunder's Mike Muscala

Mike Muscala has established himself as an influential veteran within the Thunder locker room. He’s also become a well-rounded big who can space the floor and play solid defense.

He came to OKC prior to the 2019-20 season, but didn’t play a huge role in his first season with the team. However, after proving his worth and with roster overhaul, he quickly became a key piece of the Thunder.

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During the 2020-21 season, Muscala averaged 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in just 18.4 minutes per game. However, he only played 35 games due to injury and missed nearly the entire second half of the season.

While he was a quality player on the court, he was an even better person off. When it comes to encompassing the Thunder culture, Mike Muscala was as good as anyone in franchise history. In fact, Muscala had the opportunity to potentially get traded to a contender at the deadline, but chose to stay even though he knew he wouldn’t get much court time the rest of the way. It was important to him to stick around and be a leader for the young roster.

With this in mind, Muscala may have played his final game in a Thunder uniform. At the close of the season, he finished up his one-year minimum contract with Oklahoma City and is set to become an unrestricted free agent.

While he is extremely valuable to the team and would love to be back, roster spots will be hard to come by next season. With a ton of money to spend in free agency and four picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Thunder may prioritize filling their roster spots with young players.

A player who truly loved being in Oklahoma City, Muscala got extremely emotional in his exit interviews after the season, knowing it might be the end of his time as a member of the Thunder.

"I'll always be a #Thunder fan and always rooting for the Thunder."

Mike Muscala tears up as he reflects on his time in OKC and approaches free agency. pic.twitter.com/Ku25ZTtEX4
— Luke Slabaugh (@LukeSlabaugh) May 17, 2021

If he isn’t brought back, Mike Muscala will be an excellent player on another team around the league. Standing at 6-foot-10 and shooting 37.0 from deep last season, he brings a lot to the table as a reserve scorer.