Oklahoma City Thunder rookies Perry Jones, III and Jeremy Lamb have not played much this year in the NBA.

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks has stuck with his veterans and essentially the players that were a big part last year of the Thunder’s NBA Finals run.

Last night, both Jones and Lamb looked good, on different teams however.

Jones played with the Thunder last night and got a lot of burn thanks to Hasheem Thabeet’s sore lower back. Jones made his first four shots and finished with eight points and five rebounds in the game.

Jones was moving well within the offense and his teammates found him twice inside with nice passes that resulted in highly athletic flushes by PJ3.

Lamb was sent down earlier in the week to the Thunder’s D-League affiliate Tulsa 66ers and had another great game for them last night.

In their 110-95 win over the Idaho Stampede, Lamb scored 29 points in just under 27 minutes of action on 13-for-15 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from behind the three-point line.

It just looks so easy for Lamb when he’s out there which can be a good thing and a bad thing. When his jump shot is on fire like it was last night, it’s a very good thing.

The potential shown by Jones and Lamb last night and other instances this season has to have Thunder fans excited about the future of this team (as if they weren’t already).

Jones is such a great athlete that should perfectly fit in with the style the Thunder are looking to embody down the road. Lamb is the same way and would definitely be playing the NBA a lot more this season if he was on any other team.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Just about every team in the NBA passed on Perry Jones in the 2012 NBA Draft. Jones, who was projected as a lottery selection following his freshman season with Baylor, saw his draft stick really take a hit after progressing minimally in his sophomore season and being red flagged due to a past knee injury.

The risk started to outweigh the potential and Jones fell all the way out of the lottery and into the late-20s. There were the Oklahoma City Thunder though waiting for him and ready to swoop in and add another lottery-level talent to their young roster.

It immediately seemed like the perfect fit. While Jones may project to fizzle out of the league after a few seasons in another city, OKC is thought of as somewhere he will be given everything he needs to succeed. He won’t be asked to be a superstar since there are already three or four superstars on the Thunder roster.

He will just be asked to come to work every day and do his best and he’ll be getting asked this by one of the hardest workers in the NBA and best players: Kevin Durant.

“Anytime we work out,” Jones said. “[Durant] always makes sure we are matched up together.”

Jones has some similarities to Durant. He is a skilled 6-foot-11 forward that can play some three or four depending on the matchup. He will bring the Thunder an added element of versatility if he pans out and plays with confidence. Going head-to-head vs. the 3-time defending scoring champ every practice has to help prepare him.

If all goes well, Jones can really turn into just what the Thunder were missing from last season. In their matchup with the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, the Thunder roster suddenly seemed slim trying to match up with LeBron James. When Durant got in foul trouble, they were forced to turn to the undersized James Harden and Thabo Sefolosha.

Jones isn’t going to be a LeBron-stopper as a rookie or anything like that but he will be a valuable piece to throw at LeBron’s way and give the Thunder another option. The league is moving toward an era where positions are mattering less and less. Versatility is king and that is what Jones provides most above anything else.

Thunder fans were excited on draft night when they heard Jones’ name called with the 28th overall pick. OKC wasn’t supposed to do much to improve with just that pick in the draft but they ended up getting as talented a player as possible at that spot.

Thunder fans should be even more excited to here Jones talk about how Durant is there to bring him along in the NBA. One of the first things you think when you see Jones is that he is an impressionable young guy. Lucky for OKC, Durant will be the one making the impression on the rookie this season and the result can’t be anything but good.

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Every year shoe companies target the rookie class in the NBA to try and sign the next best talent in the NBA.

Adidas has announced the rookies that have signed with them this year and the list includes Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Perry Jones III.

Jones was drafted No. 28 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Thunder. Jones was projected to be a lottery selection early in his career but after coming back for his sophomore season at Baylor ended up sliding late into the first round thanks to some injury concerns regarding his knee.

Nevertheless, Adidas thought Jones to be a great candidate to be part of their rookie class which will also include Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes, Austin Rivers, Andre Drummond, Quincy Acy and Tyshawn Taylor.

According to SoleCollector.com: “Today, the youngsters from adidas’ new hoop class are showing off their new gear, most notably personalized #teamadidas t-shirts. They’re also sharing preview shots from a yearbook-style photoshoot that will likely be part of an upcoming campaign. The new members are all in Portland this week hanging out at the adidas Village headquarters as part of the brand’s rookie summit.”

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden are all currently with Nike.

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Perry Jones was once projected to be a lottery pick. After two seasons at Baylor he declared for the NBA Draft but would slide down the draft board after concerns for the health of his knees arose.

Jones fell all the way to pick No. 28 and the Oklahoma City Thunder, a place where it will be impossible for him not to fit in.

Kevin Durant will make sure of that.

“Perry and I got close over the last few months after we drafted him,” Durant told NBA.com. “I was happy that he reached a goal, a dream that he had been wanting for a long time…We have a good relationship and I’m looking forward to taking him under my wing and also learning a lot with him as well. I’m just trying to help him become the best and I’m sure he’s going to try to help me become the best as well. It’s going to be a fun relationship.”

Jones averaged 13.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season with Baylor. Those aren’t terribly impressive numbers but at 6-foot-11, he moves like a guard and is very skilled. There are questions about his motor and aggressiveness however which is another reason he dropped so far in the draft.

Jones essentially has all of the tools though. If he would have landed in the wrong city, playing for the wrong coach on a bad team, maybe he would have fizzled out of the league after a few years. But in Oklahoma City, he will be loved, not asked to do much and accepted for what he can contribute by his teammates.

“He’s a guy that really cares about his team and his teammates,” Jones said of Durant. “A lot of people at his level, players like that, most of them care about themselves. It’s very rare to come around a type of player like that who cares about his team.”

The Thunder are a rare organization with a team that has a true sense of family about them. Jones is the next member.

Jones will have a chance to start playing right away for the Thunder. They are in need of a player like him, versatile enough to hang with fours and also quick enough to defend some threes. He will have a chance to crack the 10-man rotation for OKC and if he does, could become a huge contributor for them.

Not a lot will be asked from Jones at first nor will much be expected. Everything he gives the Thunder will be gravy but that might be just what the Thunder need to get over that next hump and win an NBA title.

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.

This has yet to matter though as Team USA is 3-0 so far in Olympic play most recently dominating Nigeria to the fullest with an 83-point victory.

Team USA makes up for its lack of size with superior talent. In particular with three players, that are playing somewhat out of position than we’re used to seeing them in the NBA.

Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony have each assumed roles with this team where they are playing power forward and sometimes center. This is something that became necessary for Mike Krzyzewski to do once the likes of Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh weren’t going to be on the team and it has worked our just fine.

Playing the four isn’t a totally foreign concept for these three. In fact, you could argue that their NBA teams were most successful when each of these players played the four for them.

A big reason why the Miami Heat won the NBA title this season was because they went to a smaller lineup after Bosh got injured that featured LeBron at the four. It worked so well without Bosh that when he returned at the end of the Eastern Conference Finals, head coach Erik Spoelstra stuck with it all the way through the NBA Finals.

LeBron morphed into a version of Larry Bird using his distributor skills from the low block and posing mismatch problems even more so than usual with his new position.

While not as dramatic as LeBron changing positions, many argue that the Thunder are at their best when Durant plays the four. He stretches the floor as well as anyone in the league and has the length to contend with taller players inside.

The Thunder become more of an up-and-down team when he plays the four and Serge Ibaka is next to him at the five. They give up more on the defensive end with this lineup but their offense takes on a new form that is almost impossible to truly matchup with.

The Knicks too experienced some of their best success last season with Anthony at the four while Amare Stoudemire was out of the lineup. Anthony has showed in the past in the Olympics his ability to play the four and is doing it again this summer as he just set a U.S. Olympic record with 37 points vs. Nigeria.

This is what the future of the NBA will be. There was a time when teams liked their bigger lineups, ones that might prefer Anthony Mason or Robert Horry at the three. That was the 1990’s and the game is different now and perhaps ready to take an even more dramatic step forward in terms of positions.

There are more skilled athletes than ever in the NBA today. Players like LeBron and Durant are the best in the league largely because of what they can do with a basketball despite their huge frames.

Pat Riley has come out and said that the Heat will not necessarily be looking for a center for next season despite that being one of the obvious holes of their roster. They are committed to sticking with what worked last season in moving LeBron to the low block.

The Knicks too are considering this with their head coach Mike Woodson recently discussing smaller lineups with Ronnie Brewer.

The Thunder became more versatile this year with some of the pickups they made. Two new players that will likely crack their rotation this year are Eric Maynor who was injured last season after playing only nine games and rookie Perry Jones.

Jones matches the future direction of the NBA as well as anyone. Once he would have been considered a soft big who didn’t rebound enough or score enough from the block. Now he is a matchup nightmare because of his versatility. And lined up next to Durant will give the Thunder something that will be just about impossible for any team to match up with.

We will continue to try and find something about this 2012 U.S. Olympic team that will make them beatable. Spain and Brazil’s size is the one thing that looks like could give Team USA trouble.

But maybe that’s not the case at all. Maybe Team USA is better off with this lineup, becoming more versatile and being able to play the brand of basketball that will be displayed for years to come in the NBA.

Basketball is always evolving and Durant, LeBron and Melo are the next evolution.

Reggie Jackson scored 14 points and provided this highlight dunk to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to an 89-75 win over the Utah Jazz in the final day of the Orlando Summer League. The Thunder finished the week with a 3-2 record.

Jackson looked the best of all the Thunder players this week not only showing off his athleticism on plays like this but also looking a lot more confident than he did during the regular season for the Thunder.

Jackson averaged 15.3 points and 3.5 assists per game in the four Summer League games that he played in for the Thunder. He is more of a scoring point guard than a distributor but is a very good athlete for his position and has a lot of potential on defense.

Perry Jones played in just the first two Summer League games for the Thunder before sitting out the remainder of the week with a sprained ankle. Jones impressed especially in the first game and averaged 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and showed a ton of potential.

Cole Aldrich had high expectations coming into this week and simply did not deliver. He averaged just 5.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in four games. His offense was shaky and his defense was nothing special either.

Aldrich is likely to assume the backup center role with Nazr Mohammed out the door but if he doesn’t improve soon, Jones or the newly signed free agent Hasheem Thabeet could get a chance in that role.

Lazar Hayward was probably the most consistent player for the Thunder this week but won’t get a lot of attention mainly because his game that he showed this week will not translate too well to the NBA. He averaged 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game though and will be a solid player to have at the end of the bench.

The Las Vegas Summer League begins today and will run all the way through Sunday, July 22.

Thompson spent three seasons playing for Georgetown and averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season for the Hoyas. He made 58 3-pointers last season and shot .430 percent from beyond the arc.

Thompson will be a small forward in the NBA at 6-foot-8, 212 pounds. He has more size than any of the other backup wings on the Thunder roster although it is not thought he will be getting many minutes next season.

Thompson actually declared for the NBA Draft last season but withdrew from it to come back for his junior season at Georgetown.

The Thunder roster is complete now with 15 players. The Thunder officially signed Hasheem Thabeet today as well to a 2-year deal.

The Thunder roster will featured three new players for next season with Thompson, Thabeet and rookie Perry Jones. The three players from last season that will be gone are Derek Fisher, Nazr Mohammed and Royal Ivey.

There were rumors earlier today that Grant Hill was interested in potentially signing with the Thunder and that will now obviously not happen.

There are two more days left of the Summer League in Orlando that the Thunder are participating in. Thabeet and Thompson now both can possibly join the team to play in those games.

Rookie Perry Jones did not play for the Thunder. He sprained his ankle in the Thunder’s second Summer League game on Tuesday and will not play the rest of the week.

Reggie Jackson led the Thunder with 15 points, five assists and seven rebounds. Jackson continues to look good in these games and has been most impressive with his ability to finish at the rim.

Lazar Hayward had another nice showing scoring 15 points. Garrett Temple also scored 15 points and made two threes.

Cole Aldrich had his best game of the week so far although still has been struggling overall. Aldrich scored 10 points and had seven rebounds but still gets pushed around a little too much and has worse hands then you’d expect.

The No. 9 overall pick from the 2012 NBA Draft, Andre Drummond, scored 10 points and had nine rebounds for the Pistons. Drummond is an incredible specimen on a basketball court and looks to have near-Dwight Howard potential in terms of athleticism.

The Thunder will play again tomorrow vs. the Brooklyn Nets at 1 p.m. EST.

The injury was far from severe and the Thunder have no reason to risk any further injury for Jones by playing him in these games.

Jones was impressive in the two games for the Thunder this week. He scored 16 point and had eight rebounds on Monday then had eight points and four rebounds Tuesday.

Jones already has an elite NBA body and could crack the Thunder rotation this season as a rookie. He is 6-foot-11 and most comfortable playing the stretch-four position. He’s is athletic and strong enough to get a good amount of rebounds though and play defense inside.

Jones showed some range with a couple of nice jumpers this week and also showed a great ability to take his man off the dribble and finish on drives.

His potential is extremely high and he won’t need to reach it with the Thunder next season. He can certainly come in and contribute though and give the Thunder a little something they didn’t have before.

Perry Jones who was very impressive in the first Summer League game was less so today scoring eight points to go with four rebounds and left the game late in the fourth after tweaking his ankle. The injury didn’t look to serious and expect Jones to be fine for the rest of the week.

Lazar Hayward played the best for the Thunder scoring 15 points to go with eight rebounds while Reggie Jackson chipped in with 13 points.

Latavious Williams had a nice showing with 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

Lance Stephenson led the Pacers with 28 points and seven assists and really dominated the game. He and Jackson were going back and forth some in the game with Stephenson obviously getting the better of him.

While Jones really looked great in the game yesterday, today was not as impressive but still solid for him. Whenever he scores, they are good moves taking his man off the dribble and finishing strong. He definitely likes to spot-up for that midrange jumpers a lot and you could see him developing a nice shot from there.

Hayward has been nice in both games so far in the Summer League but you don’t take him too serious. He’s just too short and his game will not translate well enough to the NBA where he could be effective with the Thunder. He’s not a bad guy to have as your 12th man though and seems to be a real professional.

Jackson again gave us flashes of his potential. He looks a lot better when he doesn’t defer and the offense goes through him. Obviously that will never really be the case for him in OKC but if he gets more comfortable he could definitely be a solid contributor off the bench.

Cole Aldrich was relatively quiet again. He scored five points, had six rebounds and committed seven fouls. Any excitement with Aldrich possibly stepping up this coming season and being a reliable bench player is going away when he plays like this. He still of course has the chance to become a nice backup center for the Thunder but he’s really just nothing too special.

The Thunder will play again tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST vs. Detroit. Hasheem Thabeet could play in the game if he signs with the Thunder tomorrow morning.

The Thunder lost 73-65 to the Boston Celtics but the final scores of these games don’t really matter.

Reggie Jackson also played well for the Thunder scoring 19 points to go with two assists and Lazar Hayward added 18 points and nine rebounds.

Jared Sullinger led the Celtics with 20 points and six rebounds.

Summer league games are only 40 minutes long and feel a lot like scrimmages. Players can’t foul out and most of the players are trying to make an NBA team so there is a lot of extra effort on every play. It’s not the calm, under controlled game we’re used to watching in the NBA.

Jones stood out from the start simply by his physical presence. He is listed at 6-foot-11 and 235 pounds with a 7-foot-2 inch wingspan.

The first thing you notice with Jones is how well he moves for his size. A lot of players are described in the way Jones is as having “all of the tools” to play in the NBA but when you watch them play you can still notice something wrong with them.

That isn’t the case with Jones at all. He is very fluid and runs the floor like a three. He didn’t get pushed around either although it is clear he is much more comfortable on the perimeter as a stretch-four type.

His first bucket was a follow-up putback at the rim then he scored next taking a big man off the dribble, going between his legs and finishing an and-one layup.

Jones settled for a lot of spot-up jumpers from midrange. The Thunder used him in a lot of pick-and-rolls mostly as a pick-and-pop man with Cole Aldrich being the roller most times. He hit a few jumpers including a three and drove to the rim nicely a few times as well.

His game reminds you a little of Earl Clark or Rashard Lewis with less range. He is a great athlete and should be able to defend will immediately in the NBA. He’s not going to love banging down low for boards but still comes up with some simply from his athletic prowess.

He looked great in this first game and Thunder fans should be excited for him. It could have been a lot worse. He could have looked more unassertive and less skilled but that wasn’t the case at all. Once he is plugged into the Thunder’s rotation and has been with the team for awhile, he should fit in very nicely.

The only other player who really looked good for OKC was Jackson. Jackson was thrust into the rotation last season after Eric Maynor tore his ACL and wasn’t very memorable in his rookie campaign.

Jackson is a very good athlete though and has some NBA skills that will clearly allow him to play in the league for awhile. He is not the best decision-maker yet but looked more decisive in this type of atmosphere as he did not have to defer at all.

Jackson’s arms are so long too and it makes you feel like he could really turn into a great defender who gets a lot of steals like a Mario Chalmers. He also is a pretty good finisher inside with a euro-step and can elevate when he needs to as well.

Jackson is not a great point guard yet though. He only had two assists and rarely makes a great pass. Once he gets more comfortable and improves in that area he could prove to be of some value for the Thunder going forward.

Cole Aldrich was maybe the biggest name Thunder fans hoped would impress in these Summer League games. He definitely didn’t in this first one scoring one point, going 0-for-4 from the field and grabbing seven boards.

The first thing you notice with Aldrich is that he does seem like he needs to get in the weight room more. He doesn’t hold his ground well enough yet on offense or defense.

He does possess good instincts and in the Thunder’s second unit as the backup center could produce some but he still feels pretty far away from much of anything. The Celtics didn’t have a lot of competition out there fOR him and you’re just waiting for Aldrich to step up and he didn’t.

Perhaps this type of less-controlled setting doesn’t suit Aldrich too well. Players don’t care about going over the back or banging over-aggressively since they can’t foul out and maybe that’s why it looked like Aldrich got pushed around.

Aldrich shouldn’t be much of a drop off from Nazr Mohammed as the backup center for OKC next season but after watching this game (and I know it’s only one Summer League game), Perry Jones looks so much better and it will be frustrating if Aldrich gets significantly more minutes than him next season, although understandable and probably expected.

The Thunder will continue to play Summer League games in Orlando the rest of the week. Hasheem Thabeet can sign with the Thunder as early as Wednesday which means he could play in a few games starting then.

The Thunder will play the Indiana Pacers tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on NBATV.

Jones attended Baylor for two seasons and averaged around 14 points and 7 rebounds per game. Jones is one of the best athletes in this draft but there is some concern with his knees.

This is without question the best possible scenario for the Thunder. Jones is certainly a risk because of injury but is also a huge reward if he pans out at all.

Jones is a perfect fit for the Thunder too as a stretch four who can rebound and defend. He’s basically a guy the Thunder could have really used in the NBA Finals against Miami.

It was amazing that Jones was on the board this late in the draft and when Miami was on the clock, it looked like they might take him. The defending champs decided to trade their pick to Philadelphia (who was projected to take Jones 15th overall in some mocks) who drafted Arnett Moultrie.

The Thunder have made great draft picks in the past but most of those came in the lottery. Making great picks later in the draft is what makes you become a dynasty.

Drafting Jones may be that first late great pick for the Thunder that propels them to another level on their way to becoming a dynasty.