Hoopsrumors filed two transaction reports in as many days this month, each still marked open with a confidence score in the mid-30s. The current roster list already backs up both moves, and a payroll above the first apron explains why the search stopped there.
Two Reports, Two Directions
Hoopsrumors reported on September 14 that Oklahoma City signed Christoph Tilly to an Exhibit 10 contract, the kind of deal built for camp bodies and G League ties rather than a guaranteed spot. That report carries a confidence score of 35 and remains open. A day later, on September 15, the same outlet reported that Lindy Waters signed with Beijing Ducks. That report carries a confidence score of 36 and is also still open.
What The Roster Confirms
A confidence score in the mid-30s reads as noise by itself, but the current roster settles both cases. Tilly appears in it now; Waters does not. Neither report has drawn a correction or a follow-up since it was filed, which is its own kind of confirmation. No transaction has been reported since September 15, which leaves these two moves as the only confirmed changes this month.
A Cap Sheet With No Room
Payroll sits at $216.2M, above the first apron. It also sits above the $200.4M luxury tax line. Jalen Williams sits at $41.5M, Chet Holmgren matches him at $41.5M, Gilgeous-Alexander is at $40.8M and Hartenstein adds $23.1M, four numbers that push the total into the league's most restrictive bracket. A cap sheet that tight has no space for a guaranteed roster addition, which is exactly why Tilly landed on an Exhibit 10 and not a standard deal. Sam Presti is still holding swap rights on the 2027 and 2028 first- and second-round picks, plus Oklahoma City's selections in 2029 and 2030 — capital saved, not spent, on a training-camp fringe move.
Did the Thunder really sign Christoph Tilly?
Yes. Hoopsrumors reported on September 14 that Oklahoma City signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract, and he appears in the current roster list.
Is Lindy Waters still with the Thunder?
No. Hoopsrumors reported on September 15 that Waters signed with Beijing Ducks, and he is absent from the current roster.
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