Oklahoma City Thunder Summer League roster preview

There are ten teams competing in Orlando Summer League this season with a variety of different kinds of players. As teams are filled with veterans, young prospects, and out-and-out rookies, Summer League is a time of year filled with wonder, promise, and ugly basketball.

We’ll be previewing the rosters of all ten teams that will be involved in the Orlando Summer League by giving about 30-50 words on each player and letting you know how legitimate their NBA chances are.

The next team on our list?

Oklahoma City Thunder Summer League roster

The Rookies

Mitch McGary, F/C: This will be McGary’s first action since the 2013 NCAA Tournament due to a back injury suffered at the beginning of the season. He profiles as a solid backup big man that can defend the post, move somewhat well on the perimeter, and set tough screens to get space for the Thunder guards. He’ll never put up sexy stat lines (especially in Orlando), but he should be a useful NBA player for a while.

Josh Huestis, G/F: Another role player-type that isn’t particularly a “summer league” player, Huestis is a strong defender that can make life hell for opposing offensive players with his length and lateral athleticism. With Thabo Sefolosha going to Atlanta in free agency, there will be minutes to go around on the wing for a defensive stopper like Huestis.

Semaj Christon, G: Christon was a draft-day acquisition for the Thunder. He’s in the mold of a Russell Westbrook-type, except without the tremendous, other-worldly athleticism that makes Westbrook “Westbrook.” He’ll need to improve his jump shot if he’s to have a chance of sticking on this roster in the future, but my guess is that they’ll keep him around in Tulsa for a year at least to see how he develops.

Players under contract

Jeremy Lamb, G: This is going to be Lamb’s third NBA season upcoming, and after playing 78 games last season he’ll be expected to make a slight jump in skill level. He averaged 15.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per-36 minutes, and outside of his shooting ability the rest of his skills haven’t quite come along as the Thunder would have liked — although they don’t really use him as anything except a shooter. This offseason and following season will be a critical one for Lamb’s development.

Perry Jones III: I’ve never been a huge fan of playing Jones on the perimeter, but he’s continued to develop to where he could become an excellent backup option for Kevin Durant in the few instances that he leaves the floor. Jones has continued to develop his lateral movement to where he can defend 3s fairly well, and his first game in Orlando was probably the most impressed with him that I’ve ever been.

Steven Adams, C: Adams is turning into a future starter at the center position for the Thunder, and to be honest he probably should start by the end of the year for the big club. However, he’s another guy that probably won’t perform particularly well in Orlando where there is a lack of structure.

Andre Roberson, G/F: Roberson is a long collegiate power forward that is transitioning to a perimeter defensive stopper role. He started 16 games for the Thunder last season, but in reality he’s nowhere near ready to start for a true contender yet. Given the current Thunder makeup that relies so much on Westbrook and Durant creating in the paint, the next development in Roberson’s game needs to be a better long-range jumper.

Former NBA player, not under contract

Nolan Smith, G: Smith has struggled both when he played for Portland as well as with injuries. After suffering the scariest injury at last year’s summer league, Smith moved over to Croatia where he played very well. However, he still needs to improve his jumper both in catch-and-shoot situations and off the dribble. But he’s always been strong defensively so he has a shot to stick somewhere this year.

Undrafted Rookies

Fuquan Edwin, G/F: Another long “3 and D” prospect, Edwin was among the best players not drafted in 2014. Given that he’s quite redundant to what they already have on guaranteed contracts, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to make this roster. However, he’s got a shot somewhere else if he impresses this summer.

Non-rookie, non-NBA players

Maurice Sutton, F/C: Sutton is an athletic, skinny, 6’11 big that played well in the D-League last season in limited minutes. He doesn’t yet have the body to bang in the paint with NBA bigs, but given his athleticism he has a shot to develop over the next couple of seasons.

Michael Stockton, G: Michael is one of John Stockton’s sons, and he played in the second German division last season. Can’t see him making an impact.

Mario Little, G: Little is a former Kansas shooting guard that has played the last two seasons with Tulsa in the D-League. Last season particularly, he played a ton of minutes for the 66ers and put up 18 points per game in 42 match-ups. Given that he turns 27 in December, he’s not much more than a bit part here for the Thunder.

Ron Anderson, F: Anderson played limited minutes in the D-League last year, but performed well on the boards. with solid rates during those minutes. My guess is that he’s going to be unable to make much of an impact in Orlando, but his hard work on the boards will probably get him another D-League contract.

Marcus Lewis, F: Lewis played a few years for Tulsa before moving over to the ACB league followed by the French league. He’s a bruiser inside without much of an outside game, so he doesn’t particularly fit in the Thunder’s plans for power forward.