OKC Thunder: 2 free agents who won’t be brought back this offseason
By Mark Nilon
OKC Thunder free agent No. 1) Jaylen Hoard
First up on the docket we have second-year forward out of Wake Forest University, Jaylen Hoard.
Signed by the Oklahoma City Blue prior to the start of this year’s season, the, then, 21-year-old saw 22 minutes of action a night where he went on to post averages of 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and two assists while shooting 49 percent from the field in 15 outings.
With his production in the development league, the OKC Thunder front office believed they saw enough to warrant him access to the varsity team and, on April 5th, inked him to a two-way deal.
Making his first appearance for the ball club that day, Hoard went on to register 10 points, six boards, and a block on four of 10 shooting from the field.
From there on out, he logged minutes in 18 other games where he’d average 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the floor. Displaying solid defensive skills, the 6-8 forward proved capable of guarding multiple positions, including centers whilst playing small-ball five, and registered either one steal or block in 13 of his outings.
Despite this, however, his offensive repertoire is more shallow than a kitty pool, rendering him somewhat useless in the scoring department (attempted 13 attempts outside of the paint in 2020-21 and made just two of them), which simply put, is an unflattering attribute that this team is already flush with in the frontcourt.
Incredibly raw on both ends of the floor, though Jaylen Hoard deserves to continue chasing his dream of making it to the NBA, and could be a useful two-way prospect for some squads across the league’s landscape, we believe such an offer by the Thunder would be better served elsewhere.