Hello, hello! Before we get into the meat of today’s issue, I have some light housekeeping to discuss. Due to my editor (me) being a complete idiot, I realized I forgot to put “Thunder” in the name of my newsletter. So from today onward, the author (me) is rebranding this newsletter from Ankit’s Cool OKC Newsletter to Ankit’s Cool OKC THUNDER Newsletter. I know many of you are distraught over this change, and I hope you can forgive me. Feel free to send the nicest insults you can at my editor (me).
Today’s issue is going to be a continuation of the last issue and complete my thoughts on Summer League. The author (me) finished writing this a little later than he wanted, but hopefully some of you still remember the short high we felt watching Summer League in an otherwise basketball-less July. I’ll also share some thoughts on the offseason moves that the Thunder made this Summer as well. 😊
“Veteran” Standouts
Josh Giddey
First off, we’re gonna talk about someone who probably shouldn’t have been playing this Summer League. Josh Giddey took the league by storm with his incredible court vision but this Summer he played a much more controlled game. I thought this was a great way to develop his game as we know he has the Steve Nash flashiness to his game however it’s incredibly promising to see him make some simple passes after reading the defense to create easy shots for his teammates. Every possession Josh had the ball, it felt like we could generate a high quality shot.
One area of improvement I was hoping to see from Giddey this summer was improvement in his shooting ability. Unfortunately, Giddey shot 1/14 (7.1%) from 3 and 15/22 (68.2%) from the free throw line over five games. I wasn’t really expecting much improvement given the short amount of time between the end of the season and Summer League, but it’s something to note. I do expect that with the rest of the offseason, and the addition of Chip Engelland (aka the Shot Doctor) to the OKC coaching staff, I’m hoping to see Giddey’s season averages bump up a bit to 30% from behind the line and 75% from the free throw line.
However, one thing I noticed Giddey had put on a little muscle and it showed when he attacked the rim. One of the most important things for him to improve on was his ability to finish through contact at the rim. Though I still think there is room to grow here, I thought that he was able to attack the rim much more aggressively and finish through defenders.
Aaron Wiggins
Aaron Wiggins was a bit of a sleeper for the Thunder during the regular season. He showed a lot of great core skills for a wing like 3 point shooting, cutting and perimeter defense however I was never sure what he’d look like if we fast forward 3 years. How much would he improve - if he would improve at all? I think many people had these concerns since Wiggins was an older player drafted near the end of the second round.
I know it’s just Summer League - but WOW, Aaron Wiggins was impressive. He averaged 10 point and 3 rebounds a game with a handful of blocks and steals over the course of 5 games. But most impressively he shot 61% from the field, 54.5% from three and 85.7% from the free throw line. The guy could practically not miss. What was especially exciting was his Wiggins ability to attack close out and cut to the basket. The latter paired very well with Giddey who was able to get the ball to Wiggins for many easy baskets.
Quite frankly, there really wasn’t anything more that Aaron Wiggins could have done to impress me. His 5 game performance (yes it is a small sample size), is exactly the kind of performance you would hope to see from a player on the fringe of the roster. In my eyes, this has solidified a spot in the regular season rotation for him and I do expect to see Wiggins to play a decent bit especially with some of our better players early in the season.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
JRE was another player who looked super impressive this Summer. He was playing more or less the same role that he did for OKC during the regular season: a stretch big who can bang with the big bodies in the paint with Chet. Though his 3 point shooting wasn’t either good or bad, Jeremiah was moving incredibly well while defending the paint. It seemed like he’s slimmed down a bit while also putting on some muscle (he looks way more jacked) which has made him much more effective defending wings on the perimeter. I expect JRE to continue to be a consistent part of our rotation due to his versatility on both sides of the ball. He is able to fill many of the holes of any number of potential front court partners with him which also gives the Thunder a lot of flexibility with lineups.
Offseason Moves
Aside from Summer League, Sam Presti and the Thunder Front Office were hard at working securing long term commitments from some of our key players!
Lugentz Dort Extension
Lu Dort was one of the most underpaid NBA players these past couple of years. Dort was an undrafted free agent coming out of the 2019 draft and signed a two way contract with the Thunder. After an excellent rookie season, Lu was converted to a full time NBA minimum contract which earned him $5.4m over 4 years.
Despite still having a couple of holes in his game, Dort’s production since then has greatly exceeded expectations relative to what you would expect from a minimum contract player. On top of that his continued improvement year over year makes him a great person to bet on in terms of long term production.
On June 30, 2022 - Sam Presti and the Thunder came to an agreement to sign Dort to a new contract:
5 year deal, with a team option on year 5
$16.5mil/year ($82.5mil total 💸💸💸)
$1mil/year ($5mil total) in bonuses around making an All Defensive Team or DPOY
This deal is EXACTLY what I would have hoped for the Thunder to do for Dort. A 16.5mil annual contract is exactly in the range of what, in my opinion, a good 3&D player is worth in today’s market. A reference point to compare versus is Mikal Bridges at $22.7mil/year, Joe Harris at $18.5mil/year, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at $15mil/year, Danny Green at $10m/year. These guys all fall on various points of the 3&D spectrum, some much stronger offensively than Dort, however the market suggests that a good shooting guard role player falls somewhere in the 15-20mil range. Dort’s incredible defense and growing offensive arsenal makes this deal a very fair and worthwhile investment by both sides. I’m excited to see Dort continue to grow on the Thunder.
Kenrich Williams Extension
Kenny Hustle is another player who was probably making a lot less than he should have been making. Kenrich has been a solid veteran wing player for us with high basketball iq. I didn’t think it was worth breaking the bank for Kenrich, but I did think that he was worth making an effort to keep around both for his play on the court, but also his leadership in the locker room.
This Summer, the Williams and the Thunder came to a contract extension which will start in the 2023-2024 season:
4 year deal, with a team option on year 4
$6.8mil/year annually ($27mil total)
Similar to Dort, Kenrich’s contract extension falls within the bounds of a backup rotation player in the NBA. We don’t rely on him to provide production to lead our team to wins, but instead give our starters rest during games and through injuries. It’s incredibly important to have bench players who are reliable so that your team doesn’t lose momentum in games when key players have to rest. Some players with similar contracts to Kenny Hustle are: Otto Porter Jr. making $6.1mil/year, Kyle Anderson making $9mil/year and Caleb Martin making $6.8mil/year.
Mike Muscala Extension
Moose is a beloved member of the OKC squad and I can’t say I wasn’t a little concerned when we declined his option. However, good things come to those who wait and the Thunder signed Mike Muscala to a 2 year deal worth $7mil. This is a slight discount relative to what Muscala would have made if his option was picked up, however OKC giving him another year on the deal provides more guaranteed money in the long run.
From a scheme and roster construction perspective, Mike provides shooting and size - two things the team desperately needs. He is our best 3 point shooter despite being one of the only true 7 footers we have. This combined with his incredible locker room presence makes him a no brainer to bring back. Even though Muscala won’t get too many minutes over the course of the season, like Kenrich, it’s crucial to keep some vets on the team in order to help teach the young guys how to operate in the NBA.
Fringe Players
I thought since I have your attention I would mention what I saw from Lindy Waters III and Vit Krejčí:
Lindy is an Oklahoma native and fan favorite from last season who was a pretty solid 3 point shooter for the Thunder. He showed off some solid shooting (7/21 across 5 games) like expected however he also had some impressive cuts to the basket which Lindy didn’t do a whole lot of last season. He has primarily been a spot up shooter, but if he can continue to develop as a cutter, I think it becomes easier to make the argument to keep him on the roster in the long term.
Vit Krejčí is sort of in a similar boat to Lindy in that they’re both sort of on the fringe of the roster but also showed off some refinements to his game. Vit has always been a big wing who can handle the ball, but due to some injuries in the past, he’s been trying to work his way back into peak form. This Summer League, he looked much more athletic while also fitting into a role that didn’t require him to have the ball so much. Overall I was impressed with what I saw, and hope to see him get some minutes in the regular season. I think some extended time in the G League would do him wonders to help him get the minutes he needs to develop.1
Conclusion
Summer League is always a fun time to evaluate young players to see how far they’ve come since their own draft days. The trio of Giddey, Wiggins and JRE were especially impressive and will have plenty of opportunities to improve in regular NBA minutes during the coming season. Sam Presti and his team also did an incredible job locking up Dort, Williams and Muscala on long(er) term deal(s) to make sure we retain our players on fair and reasonable contracts. The NBA season is only a few weeks away, and Thunder fans should be very excited to see the continued growth of this squad!
If you have any thoughts about anything I wrote, feel free to reach out on Twitter @ankitpancakes!
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