The Oklahoma City Thunder have long been eliminated from the playoffs by Damian Lillard’s backbreaking, breathtaking 37-foot dagger, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t in the headlines for other reasons.

Though free agency is a long way off, and the NBA Draft doesn’t even take place until June, players around the league have been picking up player options. One player on the Thunder joined those ranks when it was announced by Shams Charania of The Athletic that Patrick Patterson of OKC picked up his $5.7 million player option.

Patterson picking up his option was a foregone conclusion, really, as he played terribly in the 2018-19 season, not dissimilar from his play last season, after three very productive years with the Toronto Raptors. Patterson was supposed to be the missing link for OKC – a stretch big who can defend on the perimeter while also providing some support in the interior – but it has been nothing short of a nightmare for Patterson during his Thunder tenure.

Somewhat limited by nagging injury of late, he has shot a putrid 38.8 percent from the field in his two seasons with the team while producing only 3.8 points per game. Beyond that, he failed to provide the defensive versatility that once made him a cog on that end of the floor for Toronto.

The Thunder are in dire straits in terms of the salary cap due to the immense contracts the team is doling out to Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder. With Patterson officially in the fold for next season, that cap sheet just got even more full.