Center Nazr Mohammed has signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team announced Saturday.
The veteran of eight teams in his 18th NBA season played in Oklahoma City once before, when the Thunder lost to the Miami Heat in the 2011-12 NBA Finals. He spent the previous three seasons with the Chicago Bulls in a limited backup capacity but has not played this season.
The Thunder pursued other available buyout players -- Joe Johnson, Kevin Martin and Andre Miller -- but after not landing one that might potentially add to the rotation, they looked elsewhere to fill their remaining open roster spot. General manager Sam Presti opted to sign a veteran instead of elevating a D-League player who likely would not make the late-season rotation.
With Mohammed's familiarity with the team and a respected voice in the locker room, the Thunder are at least adding something to the roster instead of nothing.
In 23 games with Chicago last season, Mohammed averaged 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game.