OKC Thunder back to having a vacant 15th standard roster spot

Back to square one. The Oklahoma City Thunder had their picture-perfect 15th-man dream spoiled with just an hour to spare. The Denver Nuggets matched Spencer Jones‘ two-year, $12 million offer sheet. The full-guaranteed deal puts them in the second apron. For now, at least.

For the first time in a decade, the Thunder played the restricted free agent game. They hoped to add Jones to fill their final roster spot that was created from the Lu Dort trade. The 25-year-old spent two seasons on the Nuggets and worked his way up from an undrafted two-way rookie to a frequent starter.

Jones averaged 5.5 points on 50.5% shooting and 3.3 rebounds this past season. He shot 39.6% from 3 on 2.3 attempts. He started in 37 of 64 games this past regular season. Because of that, he was converted to a standard deal in Feb. 2026.

Now, the Thunder remain with an open roster spot in their standard 15-player roster. They have $6.9 million to spend before they get into the second-apron penalties — something OKC has clearly hoped to get under with three cost-cutting moves this summer.

In terms of what’s next, the Thunder have a few avenues. They could add another outside name to their roster. Albeit none would be as exciting as Jones. At this point in free agency, you’re scraping at the bottom of the barrel. Or — more realistically — just wait things out. No requirements exist when you need a full roster year-round.

The Thunder could start the 2026-27 regular season with just 14 standard players. Heck, it wouldn’t be new territory. They played last season with basically just 13 standard players as Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic missed most of the year. See if any of the three two-way guys stand out enough to get a promotion. And if not, make the proper adjustments in a mid-season move.

It was fun to see the Thunder sign Jones to a two-year offer sheet. Kept everybody in OKC on their toes in an otherwise mundane summer weekend. But not much you can do when the Nuggets had the final call on where he ended up going.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder back to having a vacant 15th standard roster spot