NBA 2018-19: The 3 worst contracts on the OKC Thunder roster
During the 2018 NBA offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to sign Paul George to a four-year max deal, while also convincing the Atlanta Hawks to take on Carmelo Anthony's hugely overpaid contract.
Nevertheless, despite the organization's great business during the 2018 offseason, the Thunder still have one of the biggest salary bills around the NBA, and the franchise is home to some very bad contracts. As the Thunder look to contend in the coming years with the trio of Steven Adams, Russell Westbrook, and George, here we will look at the three contracts that may hurt OKC's ability to compete.
#3 Patrick Patterson
Patrick Patterson was expected by many in Oklahoma City to become a starter following his 2017 arrival. Despite this, Carmelo's late acquisition relegated the 29-year-old to the bench in his debut season, and Patterson has never been able to regain the form he demonstrated during an impressive spell with the Toronto Raptors between 2013 and 2017.
In his debut season with the Thunder, Patterson averaged 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.5 minutes of action. The power forward shot just .398 from the field, and this percentage has fallen to just .331 during the 2018/19 season. Patterson now finds himself behind a number of younger players in Billy Donovan's rotation, and the former Raptors man is certainly not justifying his $5,451,600 contract for the season.
Patterson also has a $5,711,200 player option for the 2019/20 campaign, and he is unlikely to turn this down, as he will struggle to get a similar deal elsewhere. Ultimately, the Thunder need to make a decision to trade Patterson or give him more time on the court in a bid to help him refind the form he showed with the Raptors.