The Oklahoma City Thunder head into Las Vegas with one clear ask for their rookies: do more, and do it fast.
After three Summer League games in Salt Lake City, OKC is still searching for its first win. The Thunder opened with a 37-point loss to the Grizzlies, followed that with a five-point defeat to the Hawks, and then got blown out again by the Jazz in a 34-point loss. The results weren’t pretty, and the next stop is going to demand a sharper response.
This isn’t about labeling anyone a bust or saying the young group has been overwhelmed. It’s more about the Thunder’s draft picks needing to take control of games instead of just flashing here and there. That next level hasn’t shown up yet, and that’s the difference between a rough stretch and a team that starts stacking wins.
Aday Mara has been the quieter of the bunch on offense, scoring 10 points across the two games he played. The defense has been there, though, and that side of his game has stood out.
What Oklahoma City wants now is for that same presence to show up on offense. Mara has shown real skill for his size, with the ability to put the ball on the floor and knock down shots.
The issue is volume. He hasn’t attempted more than nine shots in a game, and that needs to change if he’s going to become a bigger factor.
Bennett Stirtz and Otega Oweh are in a different spot: they simply need to start making shots. Both struggled against the Hawks, and that game could have swung the Thunder’s way if either one had found a rhythm. Undrafted rookie Josh Dix gave the group a boost on Tuesday night with 16 points, and now Stirtz and Oweh need to match that kind of production once the team gets to Las Vegas.
The talent is there for Oklahoma City to make some noise in Summer League. But if the Thunder are going to start adding wins, the rookies have to be the ones driving it.
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Thunder Fans Have A Frustrating Payton Sandfort Problem Already
Payton Sandfort has made a quick impression in Summer League, and not just because he was an undrafted name who was already waived by Oklahoma City. Through three games, he has led all Thunder players in scoring at 12.7 points per game, giving the kind of shooting pop that tends to linger in the back of a front offices mind even when the roster math is working against him.
The frustrating part for Thunder fans is that the performance and the opportunity do not line up neatly. Oklahoma City has limited room to maneuver, and while Sandfort keeps producing, the team is also sorting through other young pieces, including recent lottery pick Aday Mara, whose Summer League line has been a mixed bag of defensive flashes and turnover issues. For now, Sandfort looks like the kind of player who can keep forcing the conversation without necessarily changing the answer. [Read more 🡒]
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For Holmgren, the next step is less about surviving at a new spot than thriving in it. If he is going to spend more time stretched out on the floor, his three-point shot becomes even more important, both in volume and efficiency, and the Thunder will be counting on him to help fill some of the perimeter production that has gone out the door. The question now is how quickly he can turn that adjustment into another weapon for a team that keeps finding new ways to raise the bar. [Read more 🡒]