Chris Youngblood News: Earns two-way deal

The Thunder converted Youngblood from an Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal Saturday.

After going undrafted out of Alabama in June, Youngblood signed with the Thunder and was expected to be waived before the start of the regular season and stick around in the organization as a member of the G League's Oklahoma City Blue. However, the 6-foot-4 wing performed better than the Thunder anticipated in the preseason, averaging 11.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.7 minutes per game. Rather than exposing Youngblood to waivers and risk losing him to another team, the Thunder will instead open up one of its two-way slots for the 23-year-old. He'll be able to move freely between the NBA and the G League but is still likely to see the bulk of his minutes with the Blue as a rookie.