OKC Thunder: 3 players that could benefit most from Chris Paul’s departure

Massive OKC Thunder roster turnover has created opportunities, particularly in replacing the copious tangible qualities Chris Paul provided.

Training camp is underway and will kick into another gear this weekend for the OKC Thunder as the team progresses from one-on-one workouts to group workouts. This campaign will be drastically different given the exit of Billy Donovan, Chris Paul, and two-thirds of last season’s roster.

As the new head coach Mark Daigneault begins his tenure with the added concerns of a pandemic and a roster that has only six returning members. Daigneault will be looking to impart his own systems and develop relationships with the bevy of new Thunder players. But, his greatest challenge may be determining his lineups and which players will undertake specific roles.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the cornerstone for the Thunder future and led the team in scoring in his inaugural campaign. Luguentz Dort established himself as the Thunder defensive master and Darius Bazley grew consistently throughout the season delivering his best and most consistent efforts in the playoffs. As such, this trio is earmarked as part of the future core and is likely the only untouchables on the current roster.

With the truncated offseason window Sam Presti is busily transforming the roster and those tweaks will continue presumably throughout the season. Several additions to the roster feature players who haven’t That means several young players will be afforded opportunities to earn playing time.

Between training camp and three preseason games, the new players will attempt to showcase their wares to impress Daigneault and cave out a role in his rotations.

The primary loss for the Thunder is Chris Paul who functioned as the captain and essential an on-court coach for the club. The obvious need will be deciding who replaces his 31.5 minutes per game but more importantly, CP3 filled up the stat sheet across so many of the key categories.

Specifically, 17.6 points, 6.7 assists,1.6 steals, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 free throw attempts, and 4.3 perimeter attempts (at a 36.5 efficiency) per game. That’s a ton of production to have to replace and likely won’t be accomplished via one individual.

With that in mind, players seeking to establish themselves in Daigneault’s rotation have a great opportunity to carve out their role and impress the new head coach.

While losing the captain of your club isn’t ideal, there are three players TI believes could stand to benefit the most from Chris Paul’s exit:

Player who could benefit from Chris Paul’s exit  No. 1) Frank Jackson

A number of youngsters were added to the OKC Thunder in this abbreviated offseason. The guard position is one of the areas where Sam Presti specifically focused on adding depth, particularly during the draft. Rookie Theo Maledon will be looked at more from a long term perspective.

The other draft prospect selected with the 37th pick was Vit Krejci of the Czech Republic. Krejci is a 6’8″ point guard but he won’t be with the club this season as he rehabs from a torn ACL.

Clearly, with the loss of Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder, the Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will assume a larger role both in terms of playmaking and scoring. His continued growth is expected which means other players on the Thunder roster will have an opportunity to create a niche for themselves.

One of those players is Frank Jackson who has shown glimpses with the Pelicans the past two seasons. Part of the issue for Jackson in New Orleans was finding opportunity amidst all their guards. A number of Pelicans ranked ahead of him for playing time including Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, E’Twaun Moore, and J.J Redick. While he lobbied for minutes competing against youngsters Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Shai’s cousin), and Josh Gray.

In his two seasons with the Pelicans Jackson averaged 7.2 points, 1.1 assists, 1.8 rebounds with middling shooting spits.

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Examining his overall output witnessed regression in his sophomore season in terms of his overall output but in fairness, his playing time dropped by almost six minutes per game.

Jackson was drafted by the Hornets in 2017 as the first pick of the second round and later that same night traded to the Pelicans for Dwayne Bacon and cash considerations. His rookie season

Unlike some of the players who landed in OKC during the wild truncated offseason, Jackson is a player the Thunder seems invested in. That fact was cemented with news the team locked him to a deal on Friday (no terms were disclosed).

Jackson red-shirted his rookie season to deal with a stress fracture in his foot that he played through in college.  The Duke alum has struggled to score from the perimeter but his college efficiency of 39.5 percent on 3.6 attempts per game certainly suggests he could rediscover that shooting prowess.

The 6’3″ guard has a skill set that hasn’t been given an opportunity to shine in terms of consistent minutes with the Pelicans. Yet, one reason to believe Jackson could take another step is how he finished the season. With consistent playing time, Jackson improved his overall stats and shot above the league 3-point average.

In the Orlando bubble, he played in every game averaging 10.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Once he shook off the rust he shot better from the perimeter with an average of 38.1 percent from deep in the final five games he played.

His ability to attack the basket could offer a tantalizing match alongside SGA especially if he can rediscover his perimeter efficiency.  He’ll be given an opportunity to succeed, claim a role, and earn minutes in Daigneault’s rotations and Jackson is eager to prove his critics wrong.