The Thunder signs forward Alex Reese under a standard, non-guaranteed contract, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). This step comes in the wake of Isaiah Hartenstein suffers a hand fracture.

Reese previously had an Exhibit 10 deal with the Thunder and logged limited minutes in three preseason games. He was cut by Oklahoma City on Wednesday, but he impressed enough during training camp to be considered as a backup while Hartenstein recovers from his injury during what will likely be a multi-week absence.

The 6-foot-4 Reese played his college ball at Alabama from 2017 to 2021, averaging 5.4 points per game in his final season. He spent a year away from basketball, working primarily as a bartender, then signed with Luxembourg in 2022-23 before playing with the Trail Blazers’ G League affiliate last season. He averaged 11.5 PPG in ’23/24 behind decent shooting and impressed enough to earn a spot on the Thunder’s training camp roster.

When the Thunder signed and waived Reese, it was likely he would join OKC’s G League affiliate. However, with Hartenstein out and an open spot on the 15-man roster, that opened up an opportunity for Reese to provide depth. Outside of Hartenstein and Reese, the only players 6-foot-10 or taller are on the Thunder roster Jaylin Williams, Ousmane Dieng and signing Exhibit 10 Malevy Leons.

Signing Reese will bring the Thunder roster to 19 players. They have fifteen players on standard deals and three players on two-way contracts. Leons also occupies a spot in Exhibit 10 and the Thunder will have to decide Monday whether to convert him to a two-way contract or cut him short.

Reese signing a non-guaranteed deal indicates the Thunder could cycle through players on the back half of their roster or open up that slot for flexibility later in the season. If he impresses, the Thunder could keep him all year long. It’s also possible that Oklahoma City plans to develop him on a multi-year, non-guaranteed contract. As The Athletic’s John Hollinger notes (Twitter link), if Reese falls into Oklahoma City’s long-term plans, they could sign him to a two-year contract with a team option for the second year, then decline that in favor of it. an affordable multi-year deal next season.