OKC Thunder rook gains peer respect, plus 3 takeaways from NBA survey
And, it works on both sides of the coin. Some rookies who handled the primary responsibilities for their NCAA squads simply aren’t used to not being “the man”. That’s why many prospects enter the pros with major hype surrounding them and then quickly fizzle out. .
Even with the absurd depth of the 2017 class there were still rookies who failed to live up to expectations. The two lottery picks who stand out are Malik Monk and Luke Kennard. By no terms does this mean Monk or Kennard won’t measure up over the course of their pro careers.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Rather, it’s more a sign of how some players take longer to adjust. Go back one class to 2016 and it offers a better perspective of this take.
Of the 14 lottery picks most failed to impress in their rookie season. Ben Simmons was out due to injury but only Malcolm Brogdon Jamal Murray and Jaylen Brown did much to impress in year one.
Brandon Ingram, Kris Dunn, Domantas Sabonis, Jakob Poeltl, Buddy Hield and Taurean Prince all registered better sophomore seasons. The point is most rookies take a while to transition to the NBA.
In the case of the trio of OKC Thunder rookies that question is likely only to be posed to Hamidou Diallo. Devon Hall will play in Australia while no formal word for Kevin Hervey has been delivered it’s likely he’ll follow a similar path to Hall or play with the OKC Blue.
Even if Sam Presti decides to make the TI staff deliriously happy by shipping out (or buying out) Kyle Singler it wouldn’t be to make room for Hervey.
dark. Next. Thunder Trivia: uncovering 50 fun, surprising and random facts
Bottom line it’s best to temper your expectations when it comes to rookies. Even with Diallo; as much as Thunder Nation and TI want to believe he’ll be the breakout of the rookie class, better to hope for consistency both in terms of playing time and steady growth.