The assignments were already backing up for the rookies a season ago, but with their perfect attendance record, they aced every test with flying colors helping the Oklahoma City Thunder capture 57 wins, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and their first playoff series win since 2016.
Chet Holmgren was asked to anchor the defense as the lone true-big on the roster only spelled by Jaylin Williams and small ball concoctions such as Kenrich Williams or even Gordon Hayward playing in the middle. Cason Wallace was a lethal 3-and-D option for the Thunder who sacrificed a year of on-ball growth for wins given the nature of his team-first attitude.
Each rookie fits this Thunder squad like a glove, without their presence, the Thunder do not sniff a top seed, and now they will be moved to AP classes.
Following the 2024 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder still have their top two needs unmet – while there are still stops along the way this offseason via free agency and trades, in Sam Presti’s own words it is clear that some of the roster shortcomings will fall on the two youngsters.
As everyone points to the front court as an issue for the Thunder, they ran out of creators down the stretch of their season – desperately in search of more table setters and offense generators the stingy Mavericks defense mauled Oklahoma City.
In the 2024 NBA Draft the Thunder went out and got arguably the best playmaker in the class, Nikola Topic, who similarly to Holmgren Oklahoma City will have to wait a year before they can unbox their new gift due to an ACL tear.
While their other two draft picks – Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell – can certainly play with the ball in their hands as their calling guard, the only no-doubt members of Mark Daigneault’s rotation that will initiate action for the Thunder are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso to varying degrees.
After shipping off Josh Giddey to Chicago, that is where the two Sophomores come in. Holmgren and Wallace will be tasked with more playmaking duties, something that Presti made obvious both with his words following the Giddey trade and his actions on draft night.
“One of the things that we were also trying to account for with the decision to move ahead with the trade with Josh [Giddey] was we do want to try to continue to open up opportunities for Chet [Holmgren] and continue to explore that potential with him with the ball,” Presti said following the Giddey-Caruso swap.
That opportunity will extend to Wallace who is in line to get his first playmaking crack at the NBA level in the coming weeks at NBA Summer League. While the 82-gamer will likely graduate from the Summer circuit after just a few nights in Salt Lake City, it will still be a chance to tap back into his versatility which was so appealing in the pre-draft process.
Selection a player shelved for the length of the 2024-25 season is a gamble on internal development as much as it is a sign that the offseason is not finished yet. Few can blame Presti for betting on the youngest squad to ever reach the No. 1 seed make a leap, and perhaps one of the most eye-popping changes will be what the Thunder look like giving these two more on-ball chances.
Song of the Day: I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail by Buck Owens.
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Publish date : 2024-06-29 12:09:37
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