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Mike Muscala, Thunder Agree on Contract After 1 Season with Lakers
July 1, 2019
Free-agent big man Mike Muscala has agreed to a contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Sean Kennedy of Excel Sports, Muscala's agent, told Wojnarowski the news.
Muscala, who turns 28 on Monday, averaged 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds on 40.2 percent shooting for the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers last season. The 6'11" big man can also stretch the floor, as evidenced by his 36.5 percent mark from three-point range for his career.
Drafted 44th overall out of Bucknell in 2013, he spent five years with the Atlanta Hawks as a reserve before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Another deal sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers last season.
Muscala now joins a Thunder team whose frontcourt may experience a bit of turnover given rumors that center Steven Adams could be on the move. Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated reported on June 19 that Adams, Andre Roberson and Dennis Schroder were all "very available at the moment."
Muscala likely isn't the long-term answer as a starting center if Adams does leave, but he'll undoubtedly be asked to provide minutes to give the Thunder some scoring punch off the bench. Plus, the Thunder finished just 22nd in three-point percentage last year, so he could give his new team a boost there.
The Muscala news dropped soon after a Wojnarowski report that big man Nerlens Noel, who reportedly agreed to a contract with the Thunder earlier Sunday, "asked OKC for time to re-evaluate their earlier commitment on a new deal."
Noel and Muscala can co-exist as big men off the bench, but the latter is good insurance in case the former decides to head elsewhere. The Kentucky product averaged 4.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 13.7 minutes per game for OKC last year.