Stiles Points: Which Thunder Players Stock is Rising and Falling?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been through four days of training camp, which players see their stock rising and falling as they enter the preseason?

Isaiah Hartenstein 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

With Training Camp in full swing, it is the perfect chance to evaluate one of the league's top contenders. As opportunity and optimism swirl in the air, Thunder on SI is taking stock of whose stock is rising or falling heading into the preseason which begins on Oct. 7 against the San Antonio Spurs.

Isaiah Hartenstein, Stock Rising

Perhaps no ones stock is rising more than the new Thunder center. Sure, the three-year $87 Million Dollar contract goes a long way, but the level of prase Hartenstein is receiving consistently at camp from his teammates and Mark Daigneault is eye-popping.

Not only does the former Knick give the Thunder an element they did not previously have with an avenue for blanketing all 48 minutes in rim protection and size but he also elevates the rest of the roster.

His screen setting ability has been the talk of the town all four days at training camp thus far and it is easy to envision how Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and others benefit from the space he can create for them attacking downhill in staggered secondary unit lineups.

Hartenstein will be under a microscope in his first season in Bricktown and he will soon prove to be supremely valuable for Oklahoma City.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stock Rising

It is hard to imageine Gilgeous-Alexander getting better, though we have said that for three seasons. Until he steadies or decliens, his stock has to remain in an uptick. Couple his past with two key areas of improvement in the playmaking and 3-point shooting departments and you can still see the superstar grow his game during the 2024-25 season.

Lu Dort, Stock Holding

Dort's stock is simply middling. There is no argument that after his most efficent season it is declining while simultaneously being such a known commedey that there is little reason to believe he has much more of a ceiling ahead of him.

Sure, if the defensive ace can suddenly utilize his frame in way that makes him productive at the rim, which would swing his arrow up but the data suggests that is a pipedream as his career-best season only has him finishing at a 57 percent clip.

Isaiah Joe, Stock Rising

Joe has his stock rising mainly due to factors out of his control. When Hartenstein discussed playing with Joe, he compared the sharpshooter to his former Knicks teammate Donte Divincenzo. That pairing was lethal for New York a year ago and can seamlessly translate to the Thunder to help lift the offensive punch of the team's bench lineups.

Joe now having otherwordly impact and gravity when sharing the floor with Gilgeous-Alexander and Hartenstein certainly ups his stock.

Chet Holmgren, Stock Rising

While Holmgren had a fantastic rookie season in which he plays - and was excellent - in all 82 games, there is still room to grow. In year two, he should find a more comfortable groove offensively to take advantage of mismatches and up his scoring prowess. Coupling that with his elite defensive ability makes him an absolute force for Oklahoma City.

Aaron Wiggins, Stock Rising

Wiggins should enjoy a more stable and consistent role with his newly minted contract and with each opportunity earned the Maryland Product has done nothing but impress. The switchable defender enjoys extreme efficency on the other end and so long as he can stay healthy he can plug the gaps for many positions on any given night where a bum ankle could shift the rotation.

By the same token, there is no matchup where you look down the bench and do not want Wiggins out there swhich should give him the minutes to earn a higher level of national perception this season.

Alex Caruso, Stock Rising

Caruso was already known as one of the league's best defenders with the ability to switch 1-through-4, now surronded by other elite defenders Caruso can somehow take another step on that end. The Thunder defensive unit can afford to gamble and have protection for when things don't turn up aces.

Offensively, Caruso fits the Thunder's system like a glove.

Kenrich Williams, Stock Falling

The first stock faller has to be the TCU product who for the second straight season enters the year with an injury after looking a bit stiff down the stretch of the 2023-24 campaign and eventually taken out of the rotation completely.

When healthy, Williams absolutely has a role on the Thunder and can help them reach their end goal, but there is little-to-no room to get better and when you are just hoping to cling to the same production, it is hard to call it a middling stock. While his stock is falling, it is not a steap decline.

The most important thing for the veteran forward will be to get healthy down the stretch of this season where his physicality becomes a premium.

Cason Wallace, Stock Rising

Wallace's stock is rising at a rapid rate, not only was his baseline as a defender high-end and he projects to improve in year two, but his role could spell more production this year as well.

Wallace should have one of the first cracks at becoming the back up point guard for Oklahoma City, tapping into his roots as a prospect, and with his downhill scoring off Hartenstein screens and playmaking ability that element of his game has his stock on the climb.

Ousmane Dieng, Stock Falling

There is really no selling this point, a unanimous decision here really to no fault of his own. Dieng as an individual playler has vastly improved from year one to year two - though it happened in the shadows of the G League - with the Thunder set as title contenders they just feel to have passed by the timeline of the project lottery pick even if hei s improving at the rate expected on draft night, the team is well ahead of that clip.

Dieng will have a shot in preseason, and early in the regular season, to turn his stock around and stick at the NBA level. Though, nothing suggests that will happen as even in Summer League the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft was not jaw-dropping.

Still, a bright NBA future could be ahead for the prospect, but for that to happen in Oklahoma City, the turnaround has to be massive in the coming days.

Jalen Williams, Stock Rising

The rising star is set for another leap in year three. Not only was he an underrated defender as a Sopohmore but now thanks to individual and team improvements, he stands to take another step in that department.

Offensively, with the potential of being a more polished playmaker and upticking his 3-point volume, the Thunder are bankng on the Santa Clara product to establish himself as a legitimate scoring threat next to Gilgeous-Alexander even in the biggest moments, a feat he can accomplish which has his stock on a meteoric rise.

Dillon Jones, Stock Rising

Jones is an unorthodox player who still doesn't have a solidified position heading into Monday's preseason opener, but it is clear the organization truly sees a lot in the rookie. Not only did they trade five second round picks for him on draft night, but targeted him in the 2023 draft as well before he pulled his name from consideration.

Given his rebounding ability and offensively versitility, you have to imagine he fits the Thunder's system. Though, the stock climbing is mainly baked into the cake of Oklahoma City's belief in him. While the defense may not be up to par just yet, he has time to develop on that end of the floor which is the missing piece to a stable role.

Jaylin Williams, Stock Holding

While Williams is sidelined for the preseason with a hamstring injury, Williams will have to take a step back in a minutes standpoint after the addition of Hartenstein. However, going from the back up center to a third string man in the middle and playing more minutes at the power forward spot could be good for his game.

While him and Holmgren only played two percent of their minutes together, when the Thunder saw the Arkansas product play at his best next to a fellow big man.

With Williams and Hartenstein each able to pass at an extremely high level for their positions and the ability to space the floor, that could be a duo that really works. The chanceo of a position change unlocking a new aspect of his game has to prevent any preseason stock decline.

Ajay Mitchell, Stock Rising

Mitchell fits the Thunder like a glove as Oklahoma City ripped off a chain of trades to nab the mid-major guard in day two of the 2024 NBA Draft. His drive-and-kick ability and high-processes skills makes him a candidate to crack the Thunder's rotation as the missing secondary table setter for a franchise not afraid to play two-way players.

Adam Flagler, Stock Holding

A year ago at this time, Flagler was recovering from a groosome knee injury before working his way back to join the OKC Blue in Feburary and help the G League squad win their first title in franchise history.

On top of being an elite shooter, Flagler has shown playmaking pop at the G League level and now a year removed from injury could take a step forward as a defender to help his stock.

Alex Ducas, Stock Falling

Frankly, Ducas only has one NBA skill - The shooting at his size is appealing, but it also is not enough to carve out a role at the varsity level. In order to improve his stock he has to prove he can do more than just be a theoretical sharpshooter and that is a tall order, though not impossible. This is the same franchise that develop Lindy Waters III into an NBA caliber defender.

Note: Nikola Topic is out for the season and the Thunder have an open standard roster spot, Topic was not put on the board as a result of his ACL injury.

Stiles Points:

• Lindy Waters III started his Golden State Warriors tenure was a bang on Saturday with a dominating preseason debut capped off with a buzzer beater.
• Oklahoma City is focused on upping the volume of 3-point shots for Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins this season.
• Former Thunder center has set a high bar for Oklahoma City entering the 2024-25 NBA season.
• Ajay Mitchell could follow in the footsteps of past Thunder two-way success stories.

Song of the Day: I'm Writing a Novel by Father John Misty

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