Big man signs with Thunder after two years playing overseas

The Thunder have signed free agent big man Chase Jeter, the team announced in a press release.

Jeter, 27, played four years of college ball at Duke and Arizona prior to going undrafted in 2020. As a senior with the Wildcats in 2019-20, he appeared in 22 games, averaging 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per contest.

Jeter has spent the past two seasons playing professionally in Austria and Czechia, according to RealGM. During the 2023-24 campaign with BK Nova Hut Ostrava, which competes in the Czech National Basketball League, the 6-foot-10 center averaged 13.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 19 games (21.6 minutes).

While the terms of Jeter’s contract were not disclosed, it’s highly likely that he signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Thunder and will be waived and headed to their NBA G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. If he spends at least 60 days with the Blue, the Exhibit 10 language in his contract would put him in line for a bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his regular NBAGL salary.

The Thunder created an opening on their 21-man offseason roster by waiving guard Javonte Cooke on Saturday morning. After signing Jeter, OKC is now — at least temporarily — back at 21 players under contract.