Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Thunder Acquire Nique Clifford From Kings and Waive Dalen Terry

Oklahoma City made a trade on Sunday and cut the player it signed four days ago to finish it. The Thunder announced they have acquired guard Nique Clifford from the Sacramento Kings for two second round draft picks, and waived wing Dalen Terry to open the roster spot.

Terry in, Terry out

Oklahoma City announced Terry's signing on Nov. 4, a day after news of the deal broke. He filled the 15th and final standard roster spot on a multi year deal the team did not detail, and HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported the contract was non guaranteed. Terry appeared in two games, both blowout wins in a back to back set against Memphis and Washington. On Saturday night he scored his first points for the Thunder, two points and two rebounds in 5:48 of the 114-75 win over the Wizards at Paycom Center. A day later, his roster spot belonged to Clifford.

Chicago drafted Terry 18th overall out of Arizona in 2022. He averaged 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists across 218 games with the Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers. He went to training camp with Golden State this fall and was headed for its G League affiliate in Santa Cruz before Oklahoma City called.

The player Oklahoma City wanted back

Clifford, 24, is a 6 foot 5 guard and forward Sacramento took 24th overall in the 2025 draft after a strong final college season at Colorado State, where he averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.1 minutes a game as a rookie across 75 games. This season he fell out of the rotation for the 1-8 Kings and averaged 6.3 minutes in eight games. ESPN's Shams Charania reported Sacramento worked with Clifford to find him a new team, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets also showed interest before Oklahoma City closed the deal.

The trade closes a circle. On draft night in 2025, Sacramento acquired the draft rights to Clifford from Oklahoma City and sent the Thunder a top 16 protected 2027 first round pick that originally belonged to San Antonio. Oklahoma City now holds Clifford and that first round pick, and the price this time was two second rounders: Utah's pick in 2028 and Minnesota's pick in 2030.

Why Oklahoma City needed a wing

The Thunder are 8-2 and have won four straight games, but the roster is short. Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace are both out after surgery, and Chet Holmgren is also out long term after injuries in the Oct. 25 game against the Clippers. Coach Mark Daigneault now gets a long look at a second year wing who played real minutes as a rookie, at a moment when minutes are open. Oklahoma City used one of its three traded player exceptions to take Clifford, who makes $3.26 million this season and $3.42 million in 2027-28. The Thunder have until Nov. 1, 2027 to decide on his $5.98 million team option for 2028-29.

Sacramento leaves the deal with 13 players on standard contracts and has 14 days to fill one opening. The Kings held no future second round picks before Sunday; they now hold two. Oklahoma City had as many as 21 future second rounders available to deal. The Thunder play next at Portland on Tuesday night.