Stiles Points: Kenrich Williams Has to Play More For OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder have to play Kenrich Williams more minutes moving forward as their small ball five options. Gone should be the days of Dillon Jones as the first center off the bench.

Kenrich Williams is pictured during the Thunder media day at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At the 3:24 mark of the First Quarter on Monday in Sacramento, rookie swingman Dillon Jones left the scorers table and entered the game for his first of six minutes in that contest. He relieved starting forward Aaron Wiggins. Accompanying him was veteran small ball five Kenrich Williams.

Jones' night was short lived, Williams played nearly 15 minutes. This is not the first time Mark Daigneault has been quick to get the Weber State rookie into the contest and in every game sans an eye-popping night against Dallas, the results have been the same. He just is not ready. While the two entered together in Sacramento, there have been a few occasions were Jones gets the first crack at small ball duty over Williams.

Sure, ideally six minutes shouldn't sink you. However, the wrong six-minute stretch can. While this scribe has made no bones about the rookie's questionable at best defense and even worse offense, the message has remained clear from head coach Mark Daigneault since he arrived in Bricktown.

Roster exploration and stress testing players is the name of the game. He has done that with Jones. Now, it is time to pull the plug and play a different Daigneault-ism, the progression is not linear card.

While rookie Ajay Mitchell is off to a fast start, that just is not in the cards for Jones, nor should it be. No two players are the same.

For as impressive as Mitchell's debut has been, he is facing less than a tenth of the adversity Jones is. On top of learning a new system that is extremely different than his college flow, he is learning an entirely new position than his previous stop.

Not just a new position but a foreign one. Without the ball in his hands, without the rhythm and routine of touches and a role were one botched Isaiah Hartenstein dazzling pass can spoil your night.

This isn't even factoring in the defensive end of the floor where Jones is still figuring out how to utilize his bulk and leverage against NBA athletes and true big men after getting to dance around the perimeter and funnel action toward paint protection in college, he is the paint protection at the NBA level.

So his NBA shortcomings are not only expected but are far from an inditement on his future. Jones still has all the potential in the world once he taps into those subtle issues.

Learning his spots offensively, figuring out how to mix it up defensively and becoming a "system guy," as Blue head coach Kameron Woods put it after Jones' G League debut.

While Jones is still learning, Williams is the master of that very role. There is no better small ball five on this roster and few around the NBA better than the TCU product.

The way Williams can read the floor in the blink of an eye when the ball is swung to him leading to his four assists on Monday or routinely exchange gifted passes from his teammates for buckets like spending Khols Cash on Dec. 25th is miles ahead of the first-year product. Defensively, few on a roster littered with All-defensive caliber players can match his aggression and physicality.

While Jones falls in line with a developmental plan, Williams is the winning recipe for the Oklahoma City Thunder as the opponents get tougher and the nights get longer.

Stiles Points

• Isaiah Hartenstein is able to maximize his skillset as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lobbed high praise to Hartenstein following his brilliant performance against the Kings.
• Jalen Williams has diversified his scoring profile to help his year three leap on the offensive end.
• The Oklahoma City Thunder can deploy two of the best mid-range scorers in the NBA which has helped make its offensive attack lethal.

Song of the Day: Sorrow on the Rocks by Porter Wagnoer

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