was selected 21st overall by the
Oklahoma City Thunder.
Draft picks The Thunder had only their own first-round pick entering the draft. The Thunder traded their 2017 second-round pick in the
Joffrey Lauvergne trade to the
Denver Nuggets back in 2016. The Thunder ended
2017 NBA draft night with
Australia's NBL Terrance Ferguson.
Trades On July 6, the Thunder traded
Victor Oladipo and
Domantas Sabonis to the
Indiana Pacers in exchange for
Paul George. George was traded by the Pacers after rumors of George wanting to leave in free agency for the
Los Angeles Lakers. The Thunder decided to trade and gamble that a season with George on the roster will entice him to re-sign long term. George came to the Thunder as a four-time All Star, winner of the
2012–13 season Most Improved Player Award, All-NBA Third team honors three times, NBA All-Defensive First Team once and All-Defensive Second team twice. On September 25, the Thunder traded
Enes Kanter,
Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick via CHI to the
New York Knicks in exchange for
Carmelo Anthony. Anthony had been the focal point of intense trade speculation throughout the offseason while owning a no-trade clause in his contract. Both
Russell Westbrook and
Paul George "played an immense part" in convincing Anthony to waive his no-trade clause to join the Thunder. Anthony came to the Thunder as a 10-time All Star, All-NBA Second team honors two times, All-NBA Third team honors four times and a three-time Olympic gold medalist.
Free agency For this offseason, free agency began on July 1, 2017, while the July moratorium ended on July 6.
Norris Cole,
Nick Collison and
Taj Gibson were set to hit unrestricted free agency while
Andre Roberson was set to hit restricted free agency. On July 2, it was reported that
Taj Gibson agreed to a two-year, $28 million deal with the
Minnesota Timberwolves, which he later signed on July 10. On July 5, it was reported that
Andre Roberson agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract extension to stay with the Thunder, which he later signed on July 14. On July 21,
Nick Collison agreed to a new contract to stay with the Thunder.
Sam Presti called Collison "one of the founding members of our organization and culture, it goes without saying that he has helped set internal standards and built a legacy that Thunder fans will remain indebted to for years to come." Cole, who was not re-signed, signed a one-year deal with the Israeli team
Maccabi Tel Aviv of the
EuroLeague. Felton spent the
2016–17 season with the
Los Angeles Clippers. A day after losing
Taj Gibson, on July 4, it was reported that
Patrick Patterson agreed to a three-year, $16.4 million deal with the Thunder, which he later signed on July 10. Patterson spent the
2016–17 season with the
Toronto Raptors. On July 22,
Dakari Johnson signed a deal with the Thunder. Johnson was originally selected 48th overall in the
2015 NBA draft but did not a sign a contract in the
2015–16 season, instead playing two seasons with the
Oklahoma City Blue. Starting in the
2017–18 season, each team is allowed two players on two-way contracts, in addition to the standard 15 players on the roster. On August 3,
Daniel Hamilton signed a
two-way contract with the Thunder, splitting time with the Thunder and the
Oklahoma City Blue. Hamilton spent the
2016-17 season with the Blue. To fill in the other slot,
PJ Dozier signed a two-way contract with the Thunder on October 17. Dozier came undrafted out of
South Carolina. On October 14,
Semaj Christon was waived by the Thunder as his $1.3 million salary would have become fully guaranteed for the season. The Thunder opted for 14 guaranteed roster spots rather than 15. On September 29,
Russell Westbrook agreed to a five-year, $205 million contract extension with the Thunder. Westbrook's deal was the biggest guaranteed contract at the time in 2017.
Front office and coaching changes On May 15, Thunder assistant
Anthony Grant was hired as the head coach of the
Dayton Flyers. Coming over when
Billy Donovan was hired, Grant served as an assistant coach for the Thunder for two seasons. On October 2, the Thunder announced
Rob Hennigan as Vice President of Insight & Foresight. Hennigan rejoins the Thunder after serving as the general manager of the
Orlando Magic for five seasons. ==Roster==