The OKC Thunder added Oklahoma State shooting guard Markel Brown to their training camp invite list.
As the OKC Thunder near the start of training camp, they’ve added another player who’ll be competing for a contract. Markel Brown who spent time previously with the franchise playing with the G-League affiliate the OKC Blue in 2017 will participate with the club in training camp via an Exhibit 10 contract.
Brown has played in the NBA with two clubs at the varsity level. He spent two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets in 2014-15 and 2015-16. In those seasons Brown appeared 47 and 62 games respectively. Then in the 2017-18 season, he appeared in four games with the Houston Rockets.
In between those varsity NBA appearances Brown spent time with the OKC Blue. This past year the Oklahoma State product played overseas in Turkey. In 33 games the 27-year old posted game averages of 7.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists for his Darussafaka Tekfen Turkish club.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/26/2019.
As per the above basketball reference chart, the main notable is how poorly Brown shot in his few games in Houston. For a guard to be posting 28.6 percent from the field is not acceptable on any varsity squad and his 20 percent perimeter efficiency isn’t something anyone would be excited to add to their roster.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | MAI | 1 | 8.0 | 4.0 | .500 | 2.0 | .500 | 2.0 | .500 | 2.0 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 |
| 2017-18 | TOT | 31 | 31.9 | 13.1 | .452 | 7.4 | .357 | 5.7 | .576 | 3.1 | .789 | 4.5 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 16.9 |
| 2017-18 | OKL | 22 | 31.4 | 13.5 | .461 | 8.0 | .360 | 5.5 | .607 | 2.6 | .789 | 4.4 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 17.4 |
| 2017-18 | RIO | 9 | 33.2 | 12.2 | .427 | 6.1 | .345 | 6.1 | .509 | 4.2 | .789 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 15.9 |
| Career | 32 | 31.2 | 12.8 | .453 | 7.3 | .358 | 5.6 | .575 | 3.0 | .794 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 16.6 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/26/2019.
Diving into the time Brown spent in the G-League his best performances and production came while he laced up the kicks for the OKC Blue. This could potentially be why the OKC Thunder were keen to bring him in at least for training camp. The clear difference in Brown’s stat line is how much more efficient he was from the perimeter (36 percent) when he played for the Blue.
| Season | Team | League | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | Darussafaka Tekfen | EuroLeague | eu | 20 | 17.5 | 4.9 | .347 | 2.7 | .259 | 2.2 | .455 | 1.2 | .652 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 4.9 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/26/2019.
Brown’s stats with his Turkish team don’t provide much more confidence in his shooting ability as again a guard shooting 34.7 percent from the field and 25.9 from the perimeter isn’t ideal.
What isn’t certain is why the OKC Thunder are bringing in so many shooting guards and wings to training camp.
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Perhaps General Manager or Head Coach Billy Donovan want options or they are simply looking for an equal number of wingmen to push the players on the squad and make it easier to evaluate what they have.
As it stands, the Thunder will begin camp with Terrance Ferguson, Andre Roberson, Hamidou Diallo, Deonte Burton and both two-way contracted players Lu Dort and Devon Hall.
That’s six players vying for the shooting guard role. Moreover, rookie Darius Bazley and Abdel Nader could also figure to get time at the two although they are technically listed under the small forward spot.
The other major factor here is if the club wants to give Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a starting role and also showcase Chris Paul then SGA would start at the two spot.
With Sam Presti set to talk to the media today (Thursday, September 26) perhaps we’ll get a better indication of what’s going on at the shooting guard spot.