The Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Summer League is over. And the month of July is over.
They finished 2-1 in Salt Lake City followed by an underwhelming 1-4 record in Las Vegas. Wins and losses are far from important during this time of the year.
Here are four things we learned about the Thunder this summer:
What We Learned About OKC Thunder in the 2024 NBA Summer League
Ajay Mitchell Is a Steal and Should Leave a Mark in the G League
General Manager — Sam Presti traded back into the draft to select Ajay Mitchell. Mitchell showed flashes during the 2024 NBA Summer League which is very promising.
Mitchell will be under one of the three — two-way contracts. Known as a scoring guard out of UC Santa Barbara. Great at changing speeds, shifting his body, and very crafty at finding ways to score.
His strong performances include — a double-double (11 points & 10 assists) and two – 21 point games while being very efficient.
Mitchell was under control at all times, commanded paint touches at will, made the right reads, and really displayed his playmaking. He found multiple ways to impact the game.
Mitchell’s level of comfort and aggression shows that he’s primed to initiate offense for the Oklahoma City Blue this upcoming season. And do not be surprised to see Mitchell with the Thunder towards the end of the upcoming regular season.
Dillon Jones Future Role
Dillion Jones won’t be asked to do as much as he was asked to do during Summer League. And he knows that.
In Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, Jones had a lot of responsibility: To initiate offense, to facilitate, to score, to rebound (the way he’s known to), and to impose his big frame on defenses.
Whatever comes with the Thunder, he likely won’t even be the secondary ball handler in his lineups. He’ll likely make quick decisions when a drive-and-kick finds him and rebound beyond his position. Things that’ll feel microscopic relative to his Summer League role, it’ll be interesting to see how he plays in a box-in role with the Thunder.
Jones showed flashes and flaws throughout the Summer League. There’s a competitive spirit in him that’ll fit right in with the Thunder. There were minor issues with his turnovers — as he was careless with the ball at times and there were incidents where his reads felt too advanced for his teammates. There were issues with his ability to defend on the perimeter — as there were times that he had trouble staying in front of his opposing player.
Jones is a confident player. Confident about his game, he doesn’t dwell too long on his mistakes nor does he stay satisfied with his success. He’s great at focusing on the next play. And one question I had regarding Jones became clear: As he knows he’ll slip into a role with the Thunder, and his idea of what he’ll need to do in it came with his summer reps.
OKC Summer League Teams Won’t Be as Exciting for the Foreseeable Future
For the first time in a while, there wasn’t a lot of interest in seeing the Thunder — due to not having a big-time rookie.
The Thunder’s top overall pick, Nikola Topic, was out after undergoing recent surgery (torn left ACL). Its other first-round pick, Jones, played just a couple of games and was virtually unknown to NBA fans prior to Presti trading for him. Ousmane Dieng, the most experienced player on the team, didn’t play in Vegas. The Thunder won just one of its four Vegas Summer League games.
None of it should be very surprising. The Thunder, a 57-win contender that improved in the summer, has its sights set on competing for the championship. The days of the Thunder tanking and rebuilding are over. The fans will pay attention to the sneaky picks and hidden gems from Sam Presti.
The Thunder didn’t have a blue-chip prospect like Chet Holmgren to toss or a Jalen Williams. This is the benefit and the momentary downside of a successful rebuild.
Ousmane Dieng’s Underwhelming Summer League Stint
Dieng’s 2024 NBA Summer League Stint = Underwhelming. He had his Summer League stint cut short, after ruling him out of the Vegas Summer League, an intentional decision by Thunder. Not a surprising decision but a disappointing decision after an inconsistent stint from Dieng.
The third-year forward, who’s the youngest yet most experienced player on the summer squad, could potentially be in the rotation for the Thunder.
His performance in Salt Lake City left a lot of fans unsatisfied with the decision to rule him out of the Vegas Summer League.
After a quiet first game in a setting many felt he should’ve dominated, Dieng had a bounce-back second game — where he constantly attacked the basket and did a much better job embracing on-ball duties. The level of aggression and confidence was evident in his second game.
After three games, the reigning G League MVP averaged 15.6 points, six assists, five rebounds per game and shot 34.6% from the floor, 40% from deep on nearly seven attempts a game, and had 10 turnovers.
Summer League is a great setting for players to get their reps. However, considering Dieng’s status as it’s his third Summer League stint. His inconsistent and underwhelming play is not ideal.
Dieng’s time isn’t out. But his window, with the Thunder’s rotation lining up alongside the most talented in the league, is coming to a close. His summer play hardly gave the fans confidence in him cracking the rotation.
Main Image: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
