NBA 2018-19: The 3 worst contracts on the OKC Thunder roster

During the 2018 NBA offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to sign Paul George to a four-year max deal, while also convincing the Atlanta Hawks to take on Carmelo Anthony's hugely overpaid contract.

Nevertheless, despite the organization's great business during the 2018 offseason, the Thunder still have one of the biggest salary bills around the NBA, and the franchise is home to some very bad contracts. As the Thunder look to contend in the coming years with the trio of Steven Adams, Russell Westbrook, and George, here we will look at the three contracts that may hurt OKC's ability to compete.

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#3 Patrick Patterson

Patterson has struggled offensively for OKC

Patrick Patterson was expected by many in Oklahoma City to become a starter following his 2017 arrival. Despite this, Carmelo's late acquisition relegated the 29-year-old to the bench in his debut season, and Patterson has never been able to regain the form he demonstrated during an impressive spell with the Toronto Raptors between 2013 and 2017.

In his debut season with the Thunder, Patterson averaged 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.5 minutes of action. The power forward shot just .398 from the field, and this percentage has fallen to just .331 during the 2018/19 season. Patterson now finds himself behind a number of younger players in Billy Donovan's rotation, and the former Raptors man is certainly not justifying his $5,451,600 contract for the season.

Patterson also has a $5,711,200 player option for the 2019/20 campaign, and he is unlikely to turn this down, as he will struggle to get a similar deal elsewhere. Ultimately, the Thunder need to make a decision to trade Patterson or give him more time on the court in a bid to help him refind the form he showed with the Raptors.

#2 Alex Abrines

Abrines was drafted by the Thunder in 2013 but didn't debut until 2016

After playing two years of Euroleague basketball, Alex Abrines was selected by the OKC Thunder with the 32nd overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Abrines was sent back to the Euroleague with Barcelona, although he returned to the Thunder for the 2016/17 NBA season.

Abrines has averaged 16 minutes per game since his NBA debut, although the Spaniard has averaged just 5.4 points-per-game. Despite this, Abrines has been valuable to the Thunder from behind the arc.

The Thunder are among the worst teams in the league when it comes to shooting from range, and aside from All-Star Paul George, Abrines is the team's best distance shooter. Ultimately, Abrines is currently in the final year of a three-year deal worth $18 million, and the Thunder should only look to keep the 25-year-old on a lower salary.

#1 Dennis Schroder

Schroder was traded to the Thunder during the 2018 offseason

The Thunder's main aims during the summer of 2018 were to sign George to a long-term deal, while also offloading Anthony's contract. Sam Presti and the Thunder managed to pull both of these goals, while also adding Dennis Schroder as part of the deal that saw Anthony leave after just one season.

Schroder has proved to be a hit in Oklahoma, and he is already regarded as the best backup point guard in the NBA. The German has also been deployed in the starting lineup alongside Westbrook and is currently averaging 16.1 points, 4.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.

Despite this, Schroder's contract is vastly overpriced, and this was a major factor in the Hawks' decision to trade him away. The 25-year-old is currently in the middle of a four-year, $70 million contract extension that he signed with the Hawks back in 2016, and the Thunder may look to trade away his deal in the summer.