Ranking OKC Thunder top 5 young players for rebuild mode

Terrance Ferguson has experienced an interesting career arc but sits in no man’s land

It seems like it was just yesterday Russell Westbrook had that now-legendary night with Terrance Ferguson. After a rough start to the 2018-19 season, he began raining trey balls and finished the season shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc.

Many expected that trend to continue into year three of his NBA career; the season that most players have a coming of age moment. Instead, in 2019-20,  TFerg experienced a career-low 29 percent from 3 point land, only producing four points per game, with nearly an assist per game.

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The third-year player lost his starting gig to Lu Dort and dealt with issues off the floor throughout the season that more than likely impacted his performance.

Even while playing two seasons of over 20 minutes per contest, Ferguson never looked like a true starter in this league. The resulting effect was Donovan moved him down the rotation. Unless he sees a bounceback from beyond the arc, his value will continue decreasing.

Just as I may be too bullish on Lu Dort, maybe I have soured too much on the 22-year-old Tulsa native, however, I no longer see it with him. I once thought he could be a starter in the NBA, but at this point, his ceiling is a good role player. How successful he is at becoming the 3-and-D guy we once thought he could be will.

I never thought at season start that I would rank Hamidou Diallo over Ferguson. I also never thought we would be in a global pandemic. Yet here we are.

Ultimately, this squad has three guys I am confident will be on the roster when the OKC Thunder are ready to truly contend again, and a couple of longshots. Sam Presti’s treasure trove of draft assets offers flexibility. More importantly, it gives fans the assurance this will not be a 76ers-like rebuild that took what felt like ages to mature.