Thunder sign second-year center to two-way contract

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed Branden Carlson to a two-way deal, which they announced on Friday. The Thunder's second-round pick in this year's draft — Brooks Barnhizer — occupies their second two-way slot, while the third remains vacant ahead of training camp.

Carlson joined the Thunder last season after Chet Holmgren suffered a hip injury amidst Isaiah Hartenstein's recovery from a fractured left hand. Oklahoma City was really thin at the center position at the time. Then, Carlson spent most of the season with the Blue, the Thunder's G League affiliate.

The Thunder announced Carlson's signing on their X, formerly Twitter.

Carlson is a stretch big who can shoot on one end of the floor and protect the rim on the other, as his seven-foot frame showed promise from an undrafted center. He scored a career-high 26 points in the Thunder's last game of the regular season — a 115-100 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Carlson also finished with 10 rebounds, three blocks, and two assists while going 10-for-19 from the floor, including two threes.

This came after Carlson's tenure with the Thunder ended mid-season. After Hartenstein and Holmgren made their return from their respective injuries, he was waived before Carlson earned a second 10-day contract, and subsequently, a two-way contract, which allowed him to play for both the Thunder and the Blue.

In the wake of the devastating season-ending ACL injury to the Thunder's first-round pick Thomas Sober, a 19-year-old prospect center, Carlson will have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot in October.

Mark Daigneault addresses Branden Carlson's work ethic

One of Thunder center Branden Carlson's most memorable moments of the season came in a game against the Cleveland Cavs when Mark Daigneault gave him first-quarter minutes. With both Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein out, Daigneault turned to Carlson, who drained a pair of threes amid a 30-2 Thunder run that stretched into the second quarter, and finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 attempts, including 3-of-6 from deep.

After the game, Daigneault revealed he hadn't told Carlson he'd play him that early in the game.

“I didn't tell him, no,” Daigneault said. “[With] Hartenstein out, that's the first thing. So, that frees up thirty minutes. And then, I give Branden a ton of credit. All the invisible stuff you guys don't see, and most people don't see, high-intensity workouts, the low-minute group, his Blue minutes, the way that he approaches practice, and then, these late-game minutes, when it's a blowout. Across all of those platforms, he plays the same way. And he executes.”

The Thunder will host Media Day on Monday.