Desmond Mason, Thunder Part Ways
Desmond Mason’s days in a Thunder uniform have come to an end.
For now.
Oklahoma City has decided to go in a different direction and will not re-sign the former Oklahoma State standout and fan favorite, The Oklahoman has learned.
Mason, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer, became a casualty of the Thunder’s commitment to developing its young talent and was the odd man out on a roster that is one player below the NBA maximum of 15 allowed.
The Thunder remained open to the possibility of re-signing the 31-year-old Mason throughout the summer and had ongoing discussions with his agent since the start of free agency on July 1. Mason made $5.3 million in the final year of his contract last season and is believed to have been seeking a deal in the same neighborhood this summer.
Contract negotiations were believed to have been more exploratory in nature, comprised of more casual discussion rather than concrete proposals. Mason’s camp is believed to have been seeking a multi-year contract of at least two seasons while the Thunder was willing to agree to nothing longer than a one-year deal.
But it appeared less likely Mason would return with each transaction the Thunder made since February.
Oklahoma City acquired 25-year-old swingman Thabo Sefolosha from Chicago in a trading-deadline-day deal. The Thunder then drafted versatile guard James Harden out of Arizona State with the third overall pick in the June draft. In late July, Oklahoma City traded Damien Wilkins and Chucky Atkins to Minnesota for Etan Thomas. The deal reduced the Thunder’s roster to 13 players, but five days later the team signed veteran point guard Kevin Ollie.
The Thunder also has returning players Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Kyle Weaver, Shaun Livingston and Russell Westbrook – all 23 or younger – in the mix. All are capable of playing multiple positions in the backcourt. Those players are projected to receive the bulk of the playing time in 2009-10, as the team’s young players have the past two seasons to help promote their growth.
As it stands, the Thunder will maintain its roster flexibility by parting with Mason and standing pat at 14 players. The Thunder is currently about $10 million below the salary cap, meaning its one roster spot could be an extremely valuable asset in the future if trade opportunities arise and the team needs to take on additional players or decides to sign someone during the season.
The Thunder, for example, was able to sign center Nenad Krstic from Europe in mid-season only because Steven Hill was on a non-guaranteed contract as the 15th man and could easily be waived. Oklahoma City also could be as much as $18 million under the salary cap in 2010-11, and re-signing Mason to a multi-year contract starting in the $5 million range had the potential to close the door on various long-term options.
Mason and his agent couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, and it’s unclear what alternatives are available to Mason at this point. The Thunder, however, could explore bringing Mason back in future seasons.
In 39 games, 19 as a starter, Mason averaged 7.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 27.3 minutes. He missed the final 36 games after hyper-extending his right knee in a game against Memphis in late January.
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Comments
Seen this coming, We have young guys on the perimeter that are our future and guys that we have to get playing time to see how they fit going forward, I love Mason and the leader he was but his presence would only stunt the growth of guys like Weaver, Harden and Sefolosha.
Sorry Carey I have to disagree. Desmond would have been a great help with the growth of the guys you mentioned plus the rest of the team. Not only as basketball plays but as individuals. It’s a shame he let money get in the way. Not something I would have expected from Desmond. But it is a business.
The money was not the main issue. The main issue was playing time, and Sam Presti/Scott Brooks couldn’t be sure the Thunder would get Desmond Mason enough time on the court. As for siding with Mason or the Thunder staff, I really don’t know.
I loved what Mason brought to this team, i hate to see him go but under the circumstances it was necessary. We have young guys on the wing in Durant, Sefolosha, Harden, and Weaver that all need time and Mason being here would hamper some of their development. These guys wont be the veteran presence he is but they can do the things on the floor that he does. For example if we brought Mason back he would be backing up Durant, Harden and Sefolosha would be playing the 2, that means Kyle Weaver wouldnt be getting any minutes. It’s important for us to see what we have in Weaver going forward, we know he’s a good defender, but can he become a lock down defender? , a knock down spot up shooter? I think so but we could never find that out with Mason on the roster. Harden’s game compare’s alot to Paul Pierce and i think he can play streches as a undersized 3 and be very effective, but with Mason on this team that’s not really a possibility, Sefolosha may be the best perimeter defender in the entire league and has a chance to really breakout this year, that’s less likely with Mason on the team. I’d like to Mason for what he did last year by staying with team for all the practices and road trips after the injury, he’s a one of a kind leader, but in this situation we are better served to move on.
thundertrip Dez didnt let money get in the way at all… if you read the article when it was first released his agent stated that money was not an option… He wanted to finish up his career as a thunder.. he let that be known way ahead of time… but i do agree tho… having some type of veteran leadership, especially coming from mason, is wat these young guys need and can use… mason still can be an assest to the thunder especially on the defensive end… The thunder are stacked with alot of offensive firepower but they could have def used mason’s leadership,defense,and heart….
Wow. You guys really think $$$ wasn’t invovled? Stop livingin this Utopian world. Of course it was involved, you are being too close minded if you think otherwise. This is good. Presti has finally cleansed most of this roster from poor, poor financial decisions aka WIlcoxs contract, Masons contract, Watsons contract, nothing more need be said. He would of only hindered our perimeter game from development. These guys need as many minutes as can be had.
If “$10 million under the salary cap” means we can use that money to sign/trade for a quality bigman who can score points in the paint and grab rebounds (which we are lacking), I am all for this. But if we sit with $10 million and do nothing, that money can’t give you that (score points and grab rebounds).