Thunder sign Ochai Agbaji as injuries gut Oklahoma City's wing depth

The Oklahoma City Thunder are signing free agent Ochai Agbaji to fill their open 15th roster spot, ESPN's Shams Charania and HoopsHype's Michael Scotto both reported Friday. The team has not announced the deal.

The move is about bodies. Oklahoma City's wing rotation has been hollowed out early in the season, and Agbaji is a 6-foot-5 guard who started 45 games for Toronto two seasons ago. He can take some of those minutes right away.

How thin the Thunder are

Per Hoops Rumors, second-round pick Otega Oweh tore his Achilles in the preseason and is out for the year. Jalen Williams had surgery this week on a fractured left fibula and dislocated ankle. Cason Wallace has a torn labrum expected to cost him several months. Nikola Topic (low back surgery) and Thomas Sorber (right knee surgery) have not played, Chet Holmgren has missed two games with right knee patellar tendinitis, and Alex Caruso sat Wednesday with a right ankle sprain.

That is on top of an offseason in which Oklahoma City traded away Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins. The Thunder are still 4-1, which says plenty about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the margin for more injuries is gone.

Who Agbaji is now

Agbaji was the 14th pick in the 2022 draft and has played for Utah, Toronto and Brooklyn. His best season came with the Raptors in 2024-25, when he averaged 10.4 points and shot 39.9% from three in 64 games. Last season fell apart: 5.1 points per game and 26.6% from deep, split between Toronto and Brooklyn after a deadline trade. The Nets did not extend a qualifying offer, and the Knicks waived him on Oct. 15 after training camp.

So the Thunder are betting on the 2024-25 version of his jumper. For a team that needs someone to defend the wing and make open corner threes, that is a reasonable bet at little cost. Hoops Rumors expects a non-guaranteed minimum deal, and filling the 15th spot also lets the Thunder apply for a hardship exception if the injuries keep piling up.

What's next

Sportsnet reports Agbaji could debut as soon as Saturday, when Oklahoma City visits the unbeaten Houston Rockets. Watch whether he goes straight into the rotation. If he does, it tells you how short the Thunder bench really is.