Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder have settled on a 9-man rotation this season. Everyone else will be spending at least sometime in the D-League this season with the Thunder affiliate Tulsa 66ers.

The Thunder announced yesterday that they would be assigning Jeremy Lamb, Daniel Orton and now Reggie Jackson to the 66ers.

Lamb and Orton have already had short stints in Tulsa this season and it appears they will be bouncing back and forth for the time being.

This is the first occasion Jackson has been sent down and it is a little surprising. Before the start of the season head coach Scott Brooks said the backup point guard job was up for grabs between Jackson and Eric Maynor. Everyone was so impressed by Jackson too but now 20 games into the season he’s only played in half the games with just about all the minutes coming in garbage time.

Clearly, the Thunder just want to get these guys on the court for some actual game time instead of having them ride the end of the bench. And it seems that barring an injury, none of these guys will really get a shot to come in and shine this season.

Jackson was sent down to the D-League just once last season and for only one game where he dropped 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Lamb played three games for the 66ers last week and averaged 26.0 points per game. Orton started in five for the 66ers averaging over 10 per game.

Rookie Perry Jones III was not sent down this time because he suffered an ankle injury a few nights ago with Tulsa.

The Thunder will play the Indiana Pacers tonight at home and will have only 10 players ready to play in the game.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

It was a short stint in the D-League and the Oklahoma City Thunder have already recalled Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones III and Daniel Orton back up from the Tulsa 66ers.

This looks like something that will be happening a lot for these Thunder players, getting sent down from time to time for short periods.

Lamb was the most impressive playing in three games and averaging 26.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He clearly has talent and it’s easy to forget he was a lottery pick because the Thunder didn’t draft him.

Lamb seems the most likely to find a place in the Thunder rotation this season especially if he’s capable of putting up these kinds of numbers in the D-League. The Thunder could use another backup wing instead of playing Sefolosha so many minutes, especially one who can score.

Jones III played in two games and averaged 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He’s been pretty passive so far this season and the hype around him possibly getting big minutes as a rookie now looks pretty silly.

Orton started in five games for the 66ers averaging 10.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. You can always use big man depth and if the Thunder ever are in need, Orton looks like he could be a solid option. But with Hasheem Thabeet playing so well, it’s unlikely Orton will get much of a chance this season barring an injury.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder had two roster spots open after the James Harden trade that also sent Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Houston Rockets.

One of those spots was filled today as the Thunder signed Daniel Orton who had been waived by the team last week.

Orton is essentially a D-League call up since he signed with the Tulsa 66ers. He is set to make $854,000 this season giving the Thunder a total salary of $69.296 million which is just under this season’s tax level of $70.307 million.

Aldrich was all set as the backup center for the Thunder before the trade having beaten Orton and Hasheem Thabeet out for the job in the preseason. The Thunder obviously aren’t totally comfortable in having Thabeet as the only backup center (if you don’t count Nick Collison) and that’s why they brought Orton back.

Orton looked pretty good in the preseason in the little time he played. He is a very talented player, from the Oklahoma City area and a big body with potential to become Kendrick Perkins’ replacement down the road.

Thabeet is still very raw even n comparison to Orton. With the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Dwight Howard this summer, having more depth at the center position is a good idea.

The Thunder roster will remain at 14 as they do not plan to add a 15th player as of right now. Orton and DeAndre Liggins are right now the most likely players to not make the top 12, and possibly even Jeremy Lamb or Reggie Jackson.

Now with the regular schedule of things we should see by the time the season starts a better brand of basketball for everyone.

Preseason will be the next chance we get to look at rookie Perry Jones. Jones played just two games in the Thunder’s summer league games before getting hurt. He was impressive in the little time he played and showed why he was once considered a lottery talent.

Thunder signees Hasheem Thabeet, Hollis Thompson and Daniel Orton will also get their first chance to wear a Thunder jersey in preseason.

It will be interesting to see Thabeet and see if he still looks like he has any kind of the potential that led to him being picked No. 2 overall in the draft a few years ago. Orton is from Oklahoma City and hasn’t done much at all yet in the NBA but also has some potential and could make the 15-man roster if he really performs well.

The best part about preseason will be that the NBA regular season is right around the corner. We have the Olympics to hold us over now but there’s nothing like the real thing and those Thunder home games.

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Daniel Orton to non-guaranteed training camp contract, according to The Oklahoman.

Orton, who is from Oklahoma City, is not guaranteed a roster spot as the Thunder have already filled their roster with 15 players under contract for next season this summer.

The Thunder lost Derek Fisher, Nazr Mohammed and Royal Ivey from last year’s roster and replaced them with first round draft pick Perry Jones, former No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet and undrafted rookie Hollis Thompson.

Orton was drafted 29th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. He didn’t play in any games that season and played in just 16 games last season for the Magic and actually started two of them when Dwight Howard was injured.

Orton averaged 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last year in 11.7 minutes per game.

Orton was part of an impressive University of Kentucky draft class back in 2010 that included John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Orton didn’t even start in college and left Kentucky after just one season and was still drafted in the first round.

It is safe to say he hasn’t progressed too much thus far in his NBA career and is considered somewhat of a knucklehead. He is only 22 years old though and has potential but don’t expect him to necessarily make the Thunder’s roster.

The Thunder do have a few roster spots to fill though with Derek Fisher, Nazr Mohammed and Royal Ivey all possibly coming off the books.

The Thunder aren’t going to outbid anyone for a free agent but here are a few possibilities for the Thunder:

Hasheem Thabeet, C

Thabeet was the first name brought up this offseason with the Thunder. The former No. 2 overall pick in 2009 has pretty much been a bust so far in his NBA career. Thabeet hasn’t gotten a lot of chances yet though anywhere he has played. At 7-foot-3, Thabeet is a physical specimen and was drafted No. 2 for a reason: he has a lot of potential. The Thunder may be a perfect spot for him to shine.

With Mohammed likely on the way out, the Thunder would be in the market for another backup big. Kendrick Perkins will be the starting center with Serge Ibaka starting at power forward. Nick Collison and Cole Aldrich are the immediate backup bigs and then there is rookie Perry Jones III. Signing another backup center if Aldrich doesn’t pan out would be a good idea for OKC.

Devin Ebanks, SF

Ebanks is an athletic wing that has drawn interest from a number of teams, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopWorld. The Lakers have extended a qualifying offer to him so they can match any offer he received from another team if they choose.

A backup small forward for Kevin Durant is a need for the Thunder. Daequan Cook served as Durant’s backup for most of the regular season making the Thunder second unit extra small. Ebanks could be an upgrade in this spot and provide some more versatility to OKC’s lineups.

Roger Mason

ESPN’s Chris Broussard tweeted that the Thunder are among a few teams interested in Mason. Mason is basically a spot-up shooter not much different than Cook. This signing isn’t one the Thunder would prefer over Ebanks but if they can’t get Ebanks, Mason could come into play.

Mason averaged 5.5 points per game in 52 games for Washington last season. He is a career .381 percent 3-point shooter.

Daniel Orton

Orton is from Oklahoma and a potential target for OKC, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Orton was a first round draft pick by Orlando back in 2010. He has only played in 16 games in his short NBA career and never really showed much for the Magic.

With Thabeet expected to sign with the Thunder more than anything else, Orton seems unlikely to land in OKC.