2023 Summer League - Cason Wallace, and Chet's return

[mr570]

Chet’s been losing his balance a lot too. No idea what’s up with that.

[jake_swivel]

these are scrimmages. chet is fooling around. he's not going to be breaking down defenders from the 3pt line in real games on our nba team.

I’ve heard him talk in interviews about how at Gonzaga he was put in a role where he wasn’t able to show all of his abilities. In the post game interview after the first vegas game he talked about wanting to be able to play the 4 some because it opens up other parts of his game offensively. Not saying he will try that next year, but if you’re to look at both his words and actions, I do think he wants his game to go in that direction to some degree. And I don’t see it.

[slick_watts]

these are scrimmages. chet is fooling around. he's not going to be breaking down defenders from the 3pt line in real games on our nba team.

I’ve heard him talk in interviews about how at Gonzaga he was put in a role where he wasn’t able to show all of his abilities. In the post game interview after the first vegas game he talked about wanting to be able to play the 4 some because it opens up other parts of his game offensively. Not saying he will try that next year, but if you’re to look at both his words and actions, I do think he wants his game to go in that direction to some degree. And I don’t see it.

kendrick perkins wanted to take the ball and run a fast break, too. we have so many ball handlers on this team it's hard to believe that chet will have a meaningful role in this capacity.

[jake_swivel]

these are scrimmages. chet is fooling around. he's not going to be breaking down defenders from the 3pt line in real games on our nba team.

I’ve heard him talk in interviews about how at Gonzaga he was put in a role where he wasn’t able to show all of his abilities. In the post game interview after the first vegas game he talked about wanting to be able to play the 4 some because it opens up other parts of his game offensively. Not saying he will try that next year, but if you’re to look at both his words and actions, I do think he wants his game to go in that direction to some degree. And I don’t see it.

kendrick perkins wanted to take the ball and run a fast break, too. we have so many ball handlers on this team it's hard to believe that chet will have a meaningful role in this capacity.

Kinda hard to believe they’d have dort initiating the offense last year at times, but he did.

[retrobro90]

these are scrimmages. chet is fooling around. he's not going to be breaking down defenders from the 3pt line in real games on our nba team. come on. the only minor nitpick i have with chet in summer league is that all his jumpers have been short. i wouldn't even care about %'s on such a small sample of attempts (like, ousmane dieng 10-23 from three doesn't matter at all, either). but the manner he is missing is hopefully just lack of conditioning and not related to some physical issue resulting from his foot injury. aside from that i think he's been fine on both ends.

and aside from chet i'm not sure there's anything else to get excited / down about. summer league is not real basketball. ousmane dieng has appeared confident in blue games, too. nothing he's doing in SLC or vegas has changed my opinion of him.

I might nit pick this a little bit but I agree at least that SL needs to be viewed with the correct context in mind. I just think it should still be counted as part of the never ending evaluation process with guys. I'd definitely feel differently about Dieng if he was exclusively putting up stinkers right now.

[Zagor]

Chet’s been losing his balance a lot too. No idea what’s up with that.

I believe reason is intensive lower body workout. He will need strength in his legs, and last couple of months is the time when you want to work hard to prepare for new season.

Hard work on legs in summer will pay off in winter.

Basketball coaches always tell "you don't defend in the post with your hands, but with your legs".

[jake_swivel]

Chet was falling over in college, too. I don’t think this is a result of injury, rustiness, or lower leg workouts. I think he is sort of clumsy.

[jake_swivel]

Would like to see McConnell and KJ Williams on the blue.

McConnell always out there mucking things up for the other team’s offense. Bundle of chaos.

[jake_swivel]

Heh, legit didn’t realize coulibaly was playing until I looked at the halftime box score.

[Mr Thunder Nick]

I would keep Butler as two way player. And McConnell ?

[Dadouv47]

I would keep Butler as two way player. And McConnell ?

I like Butler a lot but I don't know how much playing time we can give him. I also think he played well enough for a team to give him a contract. I don't mind if we keep him as a two way player anyway.

[Devilanche]

I would keep Butler as two way player. And McConnell ?

I like Butler a lot but I don't know how much playing time we can give him. I also think he played well enough for a team to give him a contract. I don't mind if we keep him as a two way player anyway.

I don’t really like the way he have played but with our roster , he’s probably better off getting a 2 way elsewhere whereby there’s a clearer road to minutes .

[remi_222]

Watch on YouTube

[Clav]

SL recap for you guys, OKC ended up a total of 4-4 record if we include Utah Summer League as well. The Thuder were 2-1 in Utah and 2-3 in Vegas.

Opponents were
---UTA
W Utah 95-85
L Memphis 84-96
W Philadelphia 100-91
---LV
W Dallas 91-80
L Houston 92-105
W Indiana 98-87
L Washington 89-105
L San Antonio 94-98


Best players:
Jdub - in one game looked like he was the best player on the court by a long way.
Holmgren - Looked a lot more comfortable and confident in his game on both sides of the court, needs to improve his conditioning.
Butler - put up solid numbers but was a little out of control and only sat one game (vs HOU) last 3 games he scored 20 +

Best SL players when those guys sat:
Keyonte Johnson - hustles, good toughness, will benefit from offseason of work
Ousmane Dieng - lots of variance in his play but did have a few good games and his shot is smooth so there's always hope
Cason Wallace - Impressed in debut without much practice, showed he isn't scared, but has improvements to work on

Curiosities:
TyTy Washington - did play for OKC in SL but I'm unsure what to do with him, looked okay but not special in limited minutes, training camp invite

Currently rostered but not looking good for the big club:
Tre Mann - buoyed the offense, has moves and confidence, but isn't a great defender and wont get many minutes (I think he should be traded)
JRE - coming back from another injury, looked average in one game, also non-essential to the club like Roby before him

G-League guys and other notes:
Jaden Shackleford will likely be on OKC Blue - he's a shooter
Maldonado - soaked minutes without much impact
Ziaire Smith - had one good game and a lot of nothing else
Jahmius Ramsey - OKC Blue as initiator
Tanner Groves - spot minutes for rebs, Gleague or overseas
KJ Williams - big body to get rebs - OKC Blue
McConnell - OKC Blue as wing player for bench defense


highlights for me
Won vs Utah and Keyonte George, their 1st Round pick. Utah ends up in LV SL Semifinal, so that team was decent.
Won vs Mavs who ended up being 4-1 (with Chet Dieng Wallace all having good games)
Lost to Rox who ended up in the championship game [currently 5-0]
Lost final 2 games but made it through without injuries