OKC Blue - GLeague thread (2023-2024)

[Clav]

Don't look now (or do...) but the OKC Blue have somehow cobbled together a 5 game winning streak and are now in the playoff picture.

It's actually a possibility to make up ground yet. Two games vs Greensboro Swarm which needs two wins to get near playoffs... then Birmingham, which could be eliminated from POs when we play them.

vs Dallas (Texas Legends) and a competitive division game.

and finally vs near the top of the East, the Delaware Blue Coats (& defending champs). They could be resting for the playoffs ?

It's crazy to think this team has turned around their performances, and my analysis is...they are playing NBA players

Dieng is finally playing better, Sarr, and Keyonte provide good defense and rebounding, and some of the dead weight is not being relied upon as much.

[Clav]

OKC Blue have only lost one game in the past 10, a close defeat to Greensboro Swarm [edit: Did you know Kent Bazemore is in the GL? Neither did I, but he's playing for the GBSwarm!], but has handily placed themselves at 3rd for a guaranteed playoff berth. One game left, vs the Delaware Blue Coats, and minimum 19 wins secured. Can secure the #2 or #3 seed with 20th win vs Delaware, a loss puts OKC in range of 4,5,6. And only 6 teams make it in.

I thought they were dead in the water in February, but have since turned it around. Some strange things happen with GL teams, like players getting called up near the end of the season (the best ones get NBA TW contracts normally, or 10-days.) The teams where that happens, they sometimes struggle. Or in OKC's case, our "kindof" possession dominant 2-guard, Ja'hmius Ramsey was signed by the Raps, and we've gone on a big run of wins. [I'm unsure if some other teams above us in the table had players signed to NBA squads.]

A case of addition by subtraction perhaps ? I don't have #s to back that up but I do have my eye-test, which hopefully is alright here, for now.

Ramsey is a curious case of a GL player, he's a very solid scorer, he has drive potential and handle to get where he wants. He's not the greatest defender, and hustle can vary, but he has provided big moments getting steals and running the break, providing offense when needed. Shackleford and Ramsey shot well and powered the Blue to some wins early in the season, and I praised how this team's guard play is a defining factor of how we operated. I actually thought he's one of the most NBA ready guards in the GL because of this offensive package. Notwithstanding, he was signed by the guard-needy Raptors.

Never was I a proponent of Ramsey's defensive accolades as he seems slow-footed as a wing defender and not very useful as a post defender in any sense. It's possible relying on this guy for some bench offense was actually causing more Losses, despite some impressive offense. Now, our team has been using a LOT more of Lindy Waters III, Dieng, and Sarr within the rotations. It simply makes our team look more balanced, and they are definitely larger.

[I mentioned in one of the other posts above that we're winning games because we are playing NBA players]. These 3 guys have been playing a lot better, Dieng has looked a lot more comfortable, and Sarr had a HUGE game vs Birmingham (22p-26r) to power both sides of the ball. He had 10+ offensive rebounds. That's the kind of post-presence that dominates games.

Keyonte also is a presence in the GL after finding his footing. He will definitely be in the OKC org next season.

As many of you know, I am an Oliver Sarr fan, and really think he needs some PT as our primary backup C. In the offseason, I'd like for OKC to convert him to a 3/~10M deal Ng-year 3. He deserves a contract in the NBA and could be an in-house solution to some of our rebounding issues. Sarr is also decent with his shot, not a standout shooter, but he is willing to take a variety of shots, 3s, and soft turnarounds. He impresses me with his verticality and rebounding, offensive package, more than Jaylen Williams [which isn't saying much].

To be honest, Jaylin Williams has mostly avoided the GL, I would have liked to see how he performed at that level [for extended run] as a point of comparison between the two.

[Clav]

@ HOME vs RGV Vipers in R1 of the playoffs on Tuesday April 2nd

The 3 seed OKC Blue take on the 6 seed Rockets' GL team (Rio Grande Valley Vipers).

RGV features some players which gave OKC Blue some fits in this season's earlier matchup.

former MN lottery pick Jarrett Culver
Darius Days, a savvy young combo forward
A piece of a Thunder trade package years ago in Jalen Leque

Cam Whitmore is likely going to stay up with the main club, as will Amen Thompson [these two players played really well vs OKC earlier in the year].


OKC has Dieng/Sarr/Keyonte/Lindy/Shackleford as the primary 5 with Maldonado/McConnell/Flager as big piece on the bench now.

[Clav]

OKC win by 1 over RGV Vipers! on to the next playoff game!

[remi_222]

Dieng is gonna leave soon if he doesnt play more NBA time ! he's way too good for G League

[Clav]

Moving on to the Western Conference Finals! (vs Stockton Kings)

I can't believe this team has rallied from below .500 to a finalist. The guys played really well in a close 3Q game vs Sioux Falls Skyforce. In the 4th, the Miami GL squad just couldn't hit shots, even if open, and OKC had some clutch work to win.

In roster news, Jah'mius Ramsey has returned from his 2 10 day contracts with Toronto and has returned to the OKC Blue and played in this game. Helped us with some good shots and looked less flat footed on D.

[Clav]

We are going to the GL Championship game!!! Let's go!

[retrobro90]

Went to game 2 tonight! Fun to see Lindy completely lights out. Jordan Walsh is 1000% an nba player. Would love to somehow steal him from Boston and get him with Chip. Shot is already miles ahead of where it was in his Arkansas tenure.

Wherever anyone's expectations are around Ous they should probably be lower. He looks awful right now. Outside of a few late game rebounds he was very rough tonight. Processing speed is way too slow and everything he does with the ball is tepid and second-guessed. Part of his struggles tonight can be attributed to how good Walsh is defensively but in any matchup he still looks very very lost.

[Clav]

Excellent! I'm glad to hear you went. It looked like a fun game.

We're in the GL equivalent of a NBA Finals G7 on the road.

On the road in Maine for the elimination game in the GL Finals. I'm surprised we have made it this far but highly encouraged with the fight of this team throughout the season. They have a chance to win it all and bring OKC Blue / Tulsa 66ers the first championship in the GL/NBA DL to the state.

Our franchise DID win consecutive championships as the Asheville (NC) Altitude in 2004/5 I think, but none sofar in Oklahoma.


Maine has never won the GL/NBA DL championship and look poised to do so if Walsh plays well again and they get solid bench contributions again. I can only hope that the OKC team shows up and pulls the upset on the road, would be sweet for the guys and they get bonuses for this as well surely.

[Clav]

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

if not in the NBA this year, at least we can revel in that our GL team brought home the first championship to OKC or Tulsa in the franchise's time here. Excellent work, team, and I'll be recapping this historic season later this week!

[Clav]

Clav's review of the OKC Blue 2023-24 season

Winter Showcase Result: 2nd in South Division, 10-6
[2 wins vs the East in the Final Showcase games Cleveland Charge and Wisconsin Herd]

Regular Season Result: Qualified for Playoffs as the 3rd Seed in Western Conference, 21-13
Aggregated Record: 31-19

Playoffs Results:
GL Playoffs R1 vs Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston) - W 126-125 OT [target score/Elam ending]
GL Playoffs Western Semifinals @ Sioux Falls Sky Force (Miami) - W 111-93
GL Playoffs Western Finals @ Stockton Kings (Sacramento) - W 114-107
GL Finals @ Maine Celtics (Boston) - L 86-106 [Maine leads 1-0]
GL Finals vs Maine Celtics (Boston) - W 99-89 [Series Tied 1-1]
GL Finals @ Maine Celtics (Boston) - W 117-100 [OKC Wins 2-1]


The season was a great success with a Championship! There were some bumps along the way, but here's some information that everyone might find useful from my time watching this team.

I thought they were dead in the water in the RS in February. Far behind the leaders, but they played REALLY well to close out the year, probably some of the best clutch performances from an OKC developmental team in my time following the team. I had to write up a review for this history-making season. A+ for fighting to win a championship, and surviving the challenges to make the plays when they counted.

RS stars : Jaden Shackleford, Jahmius Ramsey, & Keyonte Johnson
Playoff stars : Ousmane Dieng, Olivier Sarr, Lindy Waters III, Adam Flager

The key to this season was that we played very well as a guard-initation team, like the big club does, for much of the first half of the year. Our guard play won us games, or lost us games. However the rest of the court was pretty good matchups overall. When we had our 3 solid defenders on the wing helping the team defense, our floor-bound C's were just equal enough to stay average. Once we added LATE in the year, our super-sniper Lindy Waters, and our primary C, Oliver Sarr [who I think was nursing some injuries or with OKC Thunder much of the year], to the lineup, this team had all the options on the court to matchup against other GL teams. We outperformed my initial expectations of this team by a fair margin and I'm proud to say I caught many games on the GL channel.

The nice part of this teams rotation...
2x 3pt specialists - Shackleford and Waters III
3x wing defenders/slashers - Keyonte Johnson/Maldonado/McConnell
1x very good GL C - Sarr
1x offensive guard - Ramsey
1x defensive guard - Flager
1x swiss-army-knife F - Dieng
2x post bruisers/rebounders - Starkey/Williams
And at least 5, maybe stretching it to 6, of these players by my estimation are NBA level talent, maybe not stars, but various levels of role players. That's pretty good in the NBA GL. That's essentially why we won, we were a ~~3rd string NBA team playing against ~4th string NBA competition.



Individual Player Grades for the season [Two-Way or OKC Thunder Players only]

Spoiler:

Tre Mann - 2 games total, 28/8/5 in one game, and 14/8/5 in the other
+ Was traded to Charlotte, very limited action in GL
Season Grade and role in NBA: B, 3-level combo guard
Mann now gets some solid PT for CHA and can try to build his career further as he was stuck in limbo this year.

Lindy Waters III - 22PPG in 2 games in the Showcase Cup. Regular Season 10 GP -21/6/2.5a with 44% 3pt (8 3PtA per game)
+ Lots more confident with shot, didn't play much with only 12 total appearances until playoffs.
+ 21/9/3.5 in Playoffs shooting 58% from 3 on 6 attempts. Played huge in the Finals.
Season Grade and role in NBA: C, 3-pt threat
Lindy improved his %ages for sure, but didn't contribute much in the RS. I felt like OKC sent him to play for the Playoffs to be a kind of secret weapon that they had not deployed a lot during the year. Lindy can still carve out an NBA role as a shooter, but isn't a plus defender at that level.

Keyonte Johnson - 19/7/2 in Showcase Cup (13 GP), 19.9/6/2 in Regular Season (25 GP)
+ 13/4/2 in the Playoffs
+ Is an aggressive cutter, and plays solid defense, intangible and hustle. His scoring improved, recording 39% from 3 on 4 a game, hitting some big shots along the way.
Season Grade and role in NBA: B+, Defensive Hustle, Gritty Offense
Comparison ceiling?: Bobby Portis
Keyonte played really well overall getting his professional legs under, he started out immediately getting some nice stat lines and contributions. His scoring went up in the Regular Season and he saw consistent action with the GL club. Surely he'll be brought back as a TW player again. He has good defensive chops and court IQ. He moves well. Rebounds tough.

Ousmane Dieng - 16/7/3 in Showcase Cup, 17/7/6 in Regular Season
+ 15/7/5 in Playoffs
+ Game Winning bucket to preserve playoff hopes in Round 1 vs RGV Vipers
+ GL-Finals MVP
Season Grade and role in NBA: A-, 3-Level Scorer
Comparison ceiling?: Rashard Lewis/MPJ
Dieng had a rough start with some of his shooting, and infact was not the sharpest shooter throughout the year. However he gained a lot of confidence and posted a big triple-double in some games leading up to the playoffs. In the playoffs the Blue used Dieng successfully to initiate offense, get buckets at the rim, and space the floor. He was more forceful driving and playing defense, bumping his Stocks by +0.9. There's a lot to like, there's a lot for him to learn. Getting the Finals MVP is big! Big congrats to Dieng.

Adam Flagler - Did NOT play in showcase cup. 30 Games in Regular Season with 14/3/3, shot 40% from 3 on 6 attempts
+ 15/4/4 in playoffs
+ Minutes Increase made this team play better
+ Good BBIQ
Season Grade and role in NBA: B-, Floor General - PG3 at this point
Comparison ceiling?: Pat Beverly, Davion Mitchell, Schroder, Jordan McLaughlin with a bit more height. Idk, still forming opinions here.
Flagler, from Baylor, is a tough nosed PG. He's 6'3, wiry, and a good competitor. He was signed as a TW when Lindy's contract was guaranteed this year I think. Was working his way into the team, showed good shooting touch in the final 20 games, and played nicely in the playoffs for big minutes. As a defensive guard, he helped this team be more effective overall. Keep an eye on him I think.

Oliver Sarr - 11/11 in 2 games in Showcase Cup, 14/9/2b in RS in 18 games
+ 11/12/2b in Playoffs
+ Recorded a 20p/20r game this season, including 10 O-rebs
Season Grade and role in NBA: B-, Bench-C
Comparison ceiling?: Mehmet Okur
Comparison floor?: Joffrey Lauvergne
Sarr didn't have tons of appearances in the RS this year, but he was again deployed like Lindy was, heavily in the final games and in the playoffs. This was my big takeaway from the OKC Blue's end-of-year surge. They started playing guys who have some NBA experience, and legitimate games under their belt. Sarr showed that if given a bigger role, he is a decent C, has touch, has a shot, defensive instincts, size, but still a lot to learn. He disappears at times from the action, but also had massive moments. I think he's NBA ready for a bench role.

Individual Player Grades for the season [GL Only players]

Spoiler:

The other guys! Some were very important to note, some are deep GL bench and have no hope of NBA careers. Find out who makes the cuts below.

Jaden Shackleford
+ Shooting Guard
+ 16/4/3, 35% 3pt in the Showcase / 16/4/4 Regular Season 35% 3s, and 11/2/2 Playoffs on 38% 3s
+ Quality shooter, was leading GL in 3pt %age for a while.
Season Grade and role in NBA: A, slim
Comparison ceiling?: Cole Anthony
A 6'3 guard, who really floated PG and SG at many times this year. Was reduced in role for Flager, who is a better defender later in the season but kept this team going for much of the year. Won this team a handful of games on his shooting, had a great season all things considered. Great season for him. Unsure if he's NBA caliber because of the defensive side, but he is a solid shooter.

Jahmius Ramsey
+ Combo guard
+ 18PPG averages, upped his rebs and asts in the playoffs to 4/4. RS, shot 39% from 3 on 6 attempts, and playoffs 44% on 5 attempts.
+ Excellent at driving, and has good straightline speed
Season Grade and role in NBA: A+, SG#2 or 3/bench initiator
Comparison ceiling?: Benedict Mathurin
Ramsey has to consider this year a massive success. Helped our team offensively with Shackleford in the first 30 games (Showcase and RS). He was signed to two 10-day contracts with Toronto when they needed some late season help, so he got a real NBA contract. He then returned to our team and played a little more in control, helping us as a bench spark. He is not a great defender overall. His name is out there, and maybe he can carve a career out. He has lots to work on but this has to be a good sign for him.

Hunter Maldonado
+ 16/5/5a in Showcase cup, 10/4/4 in Regular Season, 11/5/5 in Playoffs
+ hard nosed defender and hustle guy, big minutes player
- played worse in playoffs
Season Grade and role in NBA: B+, slim chance as wing-bench player
Comparison ceiling?: Caleb Martin
Maldonado had a lot of rough moments, especially shooting, but he did soak up minutes and improved in the regular season. He was pushed out by Dieng's big play in the playoffs and I think that was a good decision. Cleaned up a lot of random points around the rim.

KJ Williams
+ Big bodied forward, bruiser
+ 14/8 Showcase cup, 10/9 Reg season, 7/4 playoffs
+ GW 33ft 3pt-shot in the Showcase cup
Season Grade and role in NBA: C+, 10-day contract for an injured team
Comparison ceiling?: Trey Lyles
Not like we need more Williams...But maybe we do need more KJ Williams had a good year, really stabilized our front court without Sarr early on. It was mostly Williams and Starkey holding it down. He provided timely offense and toughness, though still had some shaky games shooting and contributing. Big time GW shot from DEEEP was his highlight of the year, you'd have to say it was successful overall for him. However his production dipped big time later in the year, and was out of the rotation. I'm not sure he's an NBA forward, but he did have an incredible stretch of games early on before hitting the wall.

Caleb McConnell
+ 9/6/3.4stocks in Showcase / 8/6/2stocks in Regular Season
+ Hustle, defense, good size and movement, instincts
- Not a great offensive player
Season Grade and role in NBA: B, none
Comparison ceiling?: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with a little bit better jumpshot
Worked hard at defense throughout the year and is called "The Blanket" for his defense. That being said he got very little PT in the playoffs because he is not a shooter. However for his season, I'm giving a generous B because he's on the map now early in his career.

Logan Johnson
+ athletic guard, quick
+ 6/3/1a RS, ~20GP
Season Grade and role in NBA: D, slim-chance
Comp? Dion Waiters without a jump shot.
Having hops does not mean you are an NBA player. Maybe if he improves his all court game. Was sparingly used in playoffs.

Miller Kopp
+ Shooter (39% in showcase cup / 31% from 3 in RS, garbage time only in playoffs)
+ 11/3r in Showcase cup, 6/2 in Regular Season
- Had a TO to lose a game in true Shaqtin fashion, tripping on his own foot, losing the ball, and the other team got a steal to win the game. Sigh..
Season Grade and role in NBA: D+, none
Comparison ceiling?: a shorter Davis Bertans. Lindy Waters III's career would be a dream for Kopp
Kopp was bad at defense all year, but tried hard. He shot poorly for a while, but exploded for some 20+pts games in a row in the showcase cup leading to TWO wins. Good job. Then reverted to ineffective again the rest of the year with declining minutes.

Noah Starkey
+ Bruiser, Screen Setter
+ 6/4r in 22 games in RS
+ 5/7r in Showcase cup
Season Grade and role in NBA: C+, none
Comparison ceiling?: Cole Aldrich
Starkey is a solid, tall, man. He knows basketball fundamentals and does dirty work to get rebounds and points, but he has no vertical and no range. He is a 'plumber', but I'm sure he's a good dude, just not an NBA player.

Abdul Gaddy
+ Pass-first PG
+ 15 games of 6/6a in showcase cup
+ Signed with a Romanian team
Season Grade and role in NBA: D, none
Gaddy had been on our squad for a while and is not an NBA level player. He's a good passer and hesitant shooter, though has a nice form. He gets guys shots, that's his role.

Sam Daniel, Kong Kong, and Troy Baxter Jr [12 appearances between all 3]
Season Grade and role in NBA: F, none
I don't remember seeing them play at all, and they didn't do much.

[Clav]

Bad news, didn't even know this happened....

https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release-update-240417

Olivier Sarr ruptured his Achilles tendon. That's really serious, I thought he played the entire game and was fit. I'd need confirmation if he was injured in the game because I was unable to watch it.