Thunder land Nique Clifford, waive Dalen Terry

Sunday afternoon the news broke that Sacramento was giving up on its 2025 first-rounder, and the price was 2 second-round picks.

Shams Charania

@ShamsCharania

The Sacramento Kings are trading Nique Clifford to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two second-round picks, sources tell ESPN.

The part that makes this funny is where Clifford came from. On 2025 draft night the Kings sent Oklahoma City a top-16 protected 2027 Spurs first to move up to No. 24 and take him. Sam Presti got a first-round pick for Clifford's draft rights and has now bought him back for 2 seconds, and that Spurs pick looks likely to convey to OKC anyway.

Bobby Marks

@BobbyMarks42

Ironically, Oklahoma City traded the draft rights of Nique Clifford to Sacramento for a 2027 San Antonio first (if 17-30). A year later, Oklahoma City gets Clifford and likely the Spurs first in June.

Clifford never caught on in Sacramento. As a rookie he played 75 games at 25.1 minutes a night, averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. This year he's been buried in Doug Christie's rotation at 6.3 minutes a game over 8 appearances, for a team that is 1-8. The money is small: $3.26M this season, $3.42M next year and a $5.98M team option in 2028-29. OKC took him in with a trade exception, so the deal doesn't hard-cap them at the second apron.

For the Thunder, the timing is the point. Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace both went down in the same late-October game against the Clippers, Williams with a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle and Wallace with a torn labrum, and they could miss the season. OKC is 8-2 anyway, and now it has a cheap young wing to soak up those minutes.

By late afternoon the trade was official, and the casualty was Dalen Terry. OKC had only recently signed Terry to a non-guaranteed 2-year deal, so waiving him to make room for Clifford costs just $105K in cap.

Sacramento came out of it with picks it badly needed. Before this deal the Kings had 0 second-rounders over the next 7 years. They also dropped about $6.4M under the luxury tax, and with 13 players on standard deals they have 14 days to sign someone. The front office says it isn't rushing, and one in-house option is already on the table.

The schedule adds a twist: the Thunder visit Sacramento one week from Sunday, so Clifford's first game against the team that gave up on him comes fast. Watch whether Leaky Black gets his standard deal before then, and how many minutes Mark Daigneault gives his new wing while Williams and Wallace are out.