OKC Thunder Ink Lindy Waters III to a Multi-Year Pact After Hayward Trade

The Oklahoma City Thunder opened up two roster spots after trading for Gordon Hayward on Thursday. One of those spots has been issued to hometown swingman Lindy Waters III.

The Oklahoma City Thunder opened up a couple of roster spots on Thursday morning when they swapped Vasilije Micic, Tre Mann, and Davis Bertans for Charlotte Hornets veteran big man Gordon Hayward. 

Sam Presti did not take long to reallocate one of those two open spots. He converted Lindy Waters III's two-way pact to a standard multi-year contract for the second straight year.

The Thunder have signed Lindy Waters III to a standard contract to fill one of their open roster spots. Talked about this possibility on today’s Locked On Thunder. pic.twitter.com/kBSUckYR3N

— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) February 9, 2024

While the team will not disclose the terms of this contract, the assumption is this pact includes some non-guaranteed money and/or a team option, to allow the Thunder to get out from under the standard deal this summer. This was the exact model Oklahoma City followed this time last season when they made this same move following the trade deadline. 

The Thunder now have an open two-way slot, and still have an open spot on the main roster following this move to sign Waters III. 

The Norman, OK. native played his college ball at Oklahoma State, before playing semi-professional basketball in Enid, OK, then earning a spot on the OKC Blue with a G League tryout. The Thunder then brought the swingman into the fold on a two-way contract in Feb. of 2022. 

Oklahoma City Thunder has the buyout market to work with to fill their remaining open roster slot, or can convert one of their other two two-way contracts in Olivier Sarr or rookie Keyontae Johnson. 

To fill Waters III's spot on a two-way agreement, the Thunder last year went externally bringing in Jared Butler to finish out the season and participate in NBA Summer League with Oklahoma City. 

Internally, the Blue have a lot of interesting options to get promoted from Jaden Shackelford, KJ Williams, Adam Flagler, and Jahmi'us Ramsey. 

This move makes Waters III postseason eligible, which could loom large given the trust Thunder bench boss Mark Daigneault puts in the floor spacing swingman, who has improved on defense. 

In 21 games this season, Waters III is averaging 2.8 points, a rebound, and 0.5 assits per game while shooting 43 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from distance. For his career, the Oklahoma State product is a 36 percent shooter from beyond the arc. 

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