OKC Thunder Could Lean on Recent History to Strike Gold Again

The Oklahoma City Thunder could lean on their player development staff to strike gold again on the Two-Way market.

Ajay Mitchell speaks during an introductory press conference for the 2024 Thunder draft picks at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday, June, 29, 2024. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oklahoma City Thunder are fresh off a 57 win season where they grabbed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and won their first playoff series since 2016. This summer, the Thunder welcomed a trio of rookies into Bricktown from the 2024 NBA Draft as well as landing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and swapping Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso in an already crowded rotation.

It will be difficult for the Thunder to manage the workload of every player with a roster so rich with talent from top to bottom - even with an open roster spot and Nikola Topic taking a red-shirt year - but training camp is set to give a heavy indication of how the rotation will shake out for Mark Daigneault's squad.

Oklahoma City is hoping to capture lightning in a bottle again, striking gold as they have before with their two-way contract slots. As the Thunder lean on their coaching staff and the strength of their G League affiliate, it adds up to the perfect environment for the second-round pick, Ajay Mitchell.

From a Draft Digest's Keenan Womack scouting report on Mitchell: "Averaging over 20 points per game on the season, Mitchell is a heliocentric star with a usage rate north of 30%. He also shoots 51% from the field, which, for a guard, is incredibly efficient. In addition to scoring prowess, Mitchell is an excellent facilitator. Against UC-Davis, Mitchell had no points through the first six minutes, but significantly impacted that stretch of the game by recording four assists."

While Mitchell could be stashed in the G League for the majority of the season, but after seeing his scoring display in Summer League and the much needed boost he could provide Oklahoma City's secondary unit as a playmaker, it would not be shocking to see yet another two-way contract player making an impact in Bricktown.

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