Tag: Melvin Frazier Jr.

ESPN: Projected starting salaries for OKC Thunder free agents

How much is Lu Dort expected to make on his next contract?

ESPN’s Bobby Marks published an article on Thursday to project the salaries of every NBA free agent this summer.

NBA free agency officially begins on Thursday afternoon. The Thunder have four free agents listed in the article.

The four players are Lu Dort, Mike Muscala, Isaiah Roby and Melvin Frazier Jr.

The Thunder declined the team options on Dort and Muscala. Meanwhile, the Thunder picked up Roby’s $1.9 million team option but his salary won’t but guaranteed until July 3. Frazier Jr. was on a two-way deal to finish last season.

Dort is a restricted free agent, which means the Thunder will have 72 hours to match any offer sheet he signs with another team.

Let’s take a look at the projected salaries.

2021-22 Thunder player grades: Melvin Frazier Jr.

Handing out a final grade for Oklahoma City Thunder guard Melvin Frazier Jr.’s 2021-22 regular season.

(Editor’s note: We are starting individual grades for all players from the 2021-22 Oklahoma City Thunder. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)

With the 2021-22 regular season now officially in the books, the Oklahoma City Thunder (24-58) finished their season with the fourth-best lottery odds. This means it is now time for individual player grades for all 26 players who suited up for the team this season during the 82 games. The grades will be determined by what the season expectations were for each player and how they lived up to them.

The twenty-fourth player in the installment is Melvin Frazier Jr., who made his return to the NBA after a one season absence as he played the final three games of the season for the Thunder.

OKC Thunder quotes: Mark Daigneault explains why the team moved on from Olivier Sarr

The release of Olivier Sarr raised some eyebrows among the Thunder fanbase.

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault explained why the team decided to move on from Olivier Sarr despite collecting a 24-point performance in a win against the Phoenix Suns. Sarr was released in order for the team to make room to add Melvin Frazier Jr. on a two-way spot on Wednesday.

Before Wednesday’s loss to the Utah Jazz, Daigneault explained that cycling through G League players was always the plan for one of the two-way spots but Jeremiah Robinson-Earl’s foot injury derailed that plan due to a lack of centers on the roster.

“We were planning on cycling the spot when we signed Sarr. … Frazier’s a guy we wanna reward with an opportunity,” said Daigneault. “We wanna take care of guys who take care of us.”

Of course, a more sinister explanation could be that the team decided to move on from Sarr because he’s playing too well and hurting their bid to tank games. Considering Sarr is an undrafted rookie, the chances he pans out to be a legit NBA player are slim to none. So the team moved on to preserve the tank.

The timing of this release certainly doesn’t help debunk this theory. Sarr just finished helping the team get wins over the Suns and Portland Trail Blazers. But according to Daigneault, that theory wasn’t the case. Then again, expecting Daigneault to publicly say that they waived Sarr to make the team worse is unrealistic.

What a fan believes is the actual reason Sarr was released depends on how much they think the team is committed to tanking. The real answer is probably somewhere in the middle where the team thought it was time to move on from Sarr and give other guys such as Frazier Jr. an opportunity as well as helping the tank by bringing in someone who will not effect the game as much as Sarr did.

Sarr finished his rookie season averaging seven points and 4.2 rebounds in 22 games.

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OKC Thunder news: Melvin Frazier Jr. signed to two-way deal, Olivier Sarr released

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that it has signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a two-way spot on the roster. To make room, Olivier Sarr was released.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that it has signed Melvin Frazier Jr. to a two-way spot on the roster. To make room, the Thunder released Olivier Sarr. The two two-way players on the roster now are Lindy Waters III and Frazier Jr.

Frazier Jr. has appeared in 29 NBA games over his career with 1.9 points averaged. Meanwhile, Sarr averaged seven points and 4.2 rebounds in 22 games this season.

With just three games left in the regular season, the Thunder have made a series of roster moves recently that included signing three players to 10-day hardship deals that will keep them on the team for the remainder of the season in Jaylen Hoard, Georgios Kalaitzakis and Zavier Simpson.

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Thunder sign former Magic guard Melvin Frazier Jr. to Exhibit 10 deal

The Thunder signed guard Melvin Frazier Jr. as the preseason nears its end.

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed guard Melvin Frazier Jr., the team announced on Tuesday.

According to The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto, Frazier’s contract is an Exhibit 10 deal.

Frazier was drafted with the No. 35 overall pick by the Orlando Magic in 2018. He appeared in 29 total Orlando games over the next two seasons, averaging 1.9 points in 5.9 minutes per contest.

He spent the majority of his time with the G League affiliate over those two years. With the Lakeland Magic, Frazier posted 12.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 2018-19 and 18.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 2019-20.

He played for the Oklahoma City Blue in the bubble last season, during which he averaged 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds.

Frazier will likely play for the G League team once again this year. The Thunder recently waived guard Rob Edwards and then signed and waived forward Jaylen Hoard, clearing the way for both to join the Blue during the season.

Frazier did not play in the preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. Oklahoma City will conclude its preseason schedule with a rematch against the Nuggets on Thursday night.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central Time.

The Thunder’s first regular-season game is set to take place on Wednesday, Oct. 20 against the Utah Jazz.

Report: Thunder sign Melvin Frazier Jr., waive Antonius Cleveland

The Thunder have reportedly signed Melvin Frazier Jr. and waived Antonius Cleveland with the intention of adding Cleveland to the G League roster.

The Oklahoma City Thunder made another move near the bottom of the roster, according to Yahoo’s Keith Smith.

Smith reported the Thunder signed Melvin Frazier Jr. and waived Antonius Cleveland.

Cleveland’s signing was first reported by Smith on Wednesday. On Thursday, Smith reported he had been waived to make room for Frazier.

The quick turnaround with his signing and waiving was to acquire his rights for a G League roster spot, according to Smith. Cleveland, 26, has played for the Dallas Mavericks and the Atlanta Hawks since going undrafted in 2017. He has appeared in 28 NBA games between the two teams.

Frazier, 24, was a second-round pick by the Orlando Magic in 2018. The shooting guard appeared in 29 NBA games for the team over the last two seasons, averaging about two points on 40% shooting in six minutes per game.

Over 23 games in the G League last season, Frazier averaged 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.2 steals in 37 minutes per game. He shot 50.6% from the field and 32% from deep.

The year before, he shot 45.4% from the field and 38.5% from deep in the G League.

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