Theo Maledon is packing his bags. After two seasons in Oklahoma City, the 21-year-old French leader was sent to Houston on Thursday. As the NBA season begins in twenty days and the players have started training camp this week, the Thunder and the Rockets have concluded an exchange of eight players! Thus, 31-year-old strong winger (or pivot) Derrick Favors, 25-year-old point guard (or full-back) Ty Jerome, 29-year-old winger (or strong winger) Moe Harkless and Theo Maledon (plus a second round of the 2025 Draft) are leaving OKC for Texas, as 29-year-old fullback (or winger) David Nwaba, 27-year-old fullback (or winger) Sterling Brown, 29-year-old point guard Trey Burke and power forward (or kingpin) 25-year-old Marquese Chriss is doing the opposite.
Ups and downs for Maledon at OKC
If he is well and truly kept by the Rockets, Théo Maledon will therefore begin a new adventure in the NBA, within a franchise also in reconstruction, just like the Thunder, after having shone for years. Last season, both teams finished bottom of the Western Conference, with OKC picking up 24 wins and Houston 20. will not play this season due to injury, and Jabari Smith Jr in No. 3 for the Rockets), but the two franchises will have to work hard to find the play-offs. In two seasons in Oklahoma City (he had been drafted in 34th position by Philadelphia in November 2020 before being sent directly to OKC), Théo Maledon will have experienced ups and downs. He played 65 games in the first season, including 49 in the five majors (10.1pts and 3.5pts on average in 27 minutes) before experiencing more difficulty during the second, with only 7 out of 51 starts (7.1pts and 2.2ft average in 18 minutes) and 10 games played in the G-League, where he was above the pack (17.6pts, 5.8pds and 4.7rbds in 32 minutes). He had his best game on April 2, 2021, when he scored 33 points against Phoenix, 10 of 18 on shots including 5/7 from 3 points. It’s up to him to make his place in Houston now. A franchise through which only one French player has passed: William Howard, who only played two games in 2020.
