Forecasting the Oklahoma City Thunder at mid-season

Forecasting the Oklahoma City Thunder at mid-season: The curiosities

The best part about a rebuild for organizations is that they get to experiment with little restrictions and virtually no rush. It creates opportunities for fans to dream about the future and decide which players they’re going to be invested in, while at the same time creating opportunities for spectators to evaluate young talent and say which players deserve more chances.

In the previous regime, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant accelerated the Thunder’s rebuild and put deadlines on developing players, causing management to cut ties with players like Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones in order to redistribute those minutes to players like Dion Waiters and Anthony Morrow.

This new regime will be building at a much slower rate, affording lots of opportunities for intriguing young prospects. Any fan, spectator, or member of the organization has the right to their own opinion on whether these talents should be in for the long haul.

The first one that comes to mind is Ty Jerome – a point guard of the 2019 National Champion Virginia Cavaliers. A highly-touted prospect and first-round pick, Jerome has great size for a playmaker at 6-5, has the upper-body muscle to attack the basket often, and is an impressive three-point shooter given his penetrating skills.

In his first year with OKC, playing roughly half the season, Jerome was spectacular, averaging 10.7 points and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 42.3 percent from three-point range on more than half of his overall shot attempts. But in his second year in the same reserve role, Jerome has taken a dive, averaging only 1.7 assists per game (in eight fewer minutes) and shooting 28.4 percent from three-point range.

The Virginia product has proven he can lead on a winning team and has been impressive when he gets a bigger role. The only question is whether the team should be patient through his inefficiencies when they already have two leading guards and just invested in a younger, more explosive Tre Mann with their first-round pick.

The second one I’m throwing out there is Theo Maledon – a point guard who made a name for himself in France. An early second-round pick in 2020, Maledon moves great for his size at 6-4, is fearless as a sub-21-year-old, and has shown the ability to make much-needed baskets.

In his first year with OKC, starting nearly all of his games, Maledon showed out in 27.4 minutes per game averaging 10.1 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 33.5 percent on 4.8 three-point attempts.

But in his second year, shoved onto the bench, Maledon has been one of the worst players in the league, shooting a horrific 28.2 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three-point range (where most of his shooting stems from).

The Frenchman looked like a steal as a 19-year-old second-round pick, but now he looks broken without the ball in his hands. There are clearly more polished playmakers on the roster, including the name mentioned above, so should Oklahoma City capitalize on his big rookie season, or should they respect his early production and try to transition him into a shooting guard?

The third one everyone has been waiting for me to mention is Aleksej Pokusevski – a Serbian big man who dropped the jaws of NBA scouts. A first-round pick in 2020, “Poku” floats around like a guard at 7-0, swats away inside shots at only 195 lbs., and makes eye-popping plays handling the ball and attacking the rim.

In his first year with OKC, starting about half of his games, Poku looked very out of place early on before finding some rhythm. He averaged 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds shooting only 34.1 percent from the field. And now, in his second year, mainly coming off the bench, Poku hasn’t improved his efficiency, only leaping to 35.8 percent from the field and a now lower 23.0 percent from three-point range.

The Serbian’s statistics are pitiful, resembling recent international busts. However, he’s the definition of a project and still opens eyes as a 20-year-old freak of nature.

There’s very little risk to continue playing a first-round pick who, at 7-0, has shown the ability to penetrate off-the-dribble, make flashy passes, and protect the rim. But how long will Oklahoma City let the Poku experiment continue, and will they make him a key ingredient of the team’s future?