OKC Thunder: Ty Jerome should be viewed as a long-term asset

The OKC Thunder are best viewed as a team built for the future.

Coming into the year, it was evident that the franchise was setting sail on a full-fledged rebuild but, since the slew of decisions made last month it’s become more and more evident that they have heavily invested in the tank, with their sights set on both the draft and deciding who of their current bunch should be viewed as long-term stays.

While there are several players in tow such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, and Aleksej Pokusevski who are obvious choices for the front office to hold onto, there are 13 other players currently on Oklahoma City’s payroll who, though some are destined to be off the roster come next season, some hold arguments to be viewed as long-term stays.

Though perhaps not a popular opinion to some, offseason acquisition Ty Jerome (landed in the Chris Paul trade) could easily find himself falling into said category.

Selected 24th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Virginia, the point guard had a rough go at things during his first season in the league, seeing time in and out of the G League and averaging just 3.3 points in under 11 minutes of action in 31 games with the varsity team.

Coming to the OKC Thunder this past November, the 23-year-old spent the first two months of the season either at the back of the bench or logging minutes in the G League with the OKC Blue.

Finally seeing on-court action with the team on February 26th, his debut saw a log-line of nine points, seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals on 57 percent shooting from the floor.

From there on out, Jerome has become somewhat of a regular rotation piece for Mark Daigneault’s ball club off the bench and, in turn, has averaged 10.7 points, 3.6 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and just over half a steal per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from deep (second-best on the team) in 23.9 minutes.

Before even logging a single minute of action for the team, Presti went about and picked up the third year of the sophomore’s rookie contract (worth $2.4 million) so, naturally, one should easily expect him to be a candidate for a 2022-23 pickup as well — and perhaps beyond that as well.

Though it may be a bit premature, but we believe there’s an argument to be made that Jerome should be viewed as a potential long-term fit within the Thunder’s rebuild.

Every team needs their fair share of role players and, in this modern league driven by backcourt play and long-range shooting, the youngster has shown the capability of being a quality backup for either the one or even at the two thanks to his 6-5 frame.

Already viewed as a diamond in the rough to some, one could say he’s already shown he could be a long-term role player for this rebuilding ball club.