The Oklahoma City Thunder turned down Deonte Burton’s team option, according to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes.
Burton was set to be owed $1.66 million in the upcoming season. He played sparingly for Oklahoma City last year, appearing in just 39 games. Taking away his bubble time, which included two games of about 30 minutes, he averaged 8.3 minutes per game.
The Thunder signed Burton as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He was on a two-way deal the majority of the first season before signing a standard deal in March 2019.
Last season, Burton was stuck behind the three-guard rotation of Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
He had limited chances on a competitive team last year, but Paul and Schroder are now gone. The Thunder are considering re-signing him, according to Haynes. Declining it now gives the team more flexibility, and he could be brought back later without having to work around league cap rules.
Yahoo Sources: Oklahoma City Thunder decline to pick up the $1.6 million team option on guard Deonte Burton and he enters free agency. Thunder haven’t ruled out a return.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 18, 2020
Yet Burton would still have competition for a backup guard spot this year. Oklahoma City acquired second-year guard Ty Jerome from the Phoenix Suns as part of the Paul trade, and French guard Theo Maledon was drafted using the No. 34 pick. Those two can be expected to fight for roles backing up Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort at the guard positions, so Burton’s best chance may be another 12th-man-type spot.
If Oklahoma City does bring him back on a minimum, it would likely be around the same price tag that the organization declined.