The OKC Thunder offseason is winding down, with not many questions left to be answered. The roster, for the most part, is set. Now, it is just a countdown to October 19th when the ball is throw in the air for the start of the 2021-22 NBA regular season.
In what feels like the finality of the offseason, Thunder fans got closure in the Svi Mykhailiuk saga. Yes, for die-hard Oklahoma City fans, where the Kansas product would end up during the course of NBA Free-Agency is “saga” worthy. For sane, non-basketball nerds, the only saga in Oklahoma is how the Sooners will do when they kick off their season this week.
OKC Thunder lose Svi Mykhailiuk to Raptors
The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired the forward from the Detriot Pistons five months ago when they shipped Hamidou Diallo off the motor city in the midst of a career year for the Kentucky product.
Hamidou Diallo picked up where he left off once he arrived in Detriot, playing in 20 contests scoring 11 points per game, grabbing five rebounds per tilt, and dishing out just over an assist per clash. Diallo saw his three-point shooting leap to 39-percent with the Pistons, allowing him to open up his game.
The 23-year-old went on to re-sign with the Pistons, who gave up a second-round pick along with Mykhailuk to nab him.
Svi Mykhailiuk entered Oklahoma City in the midst of a tanking season, but quickly became a favorite of first-year head coach Mark Daigneault. The 24-year-old played in 30 games for the Thunder and was used in about 30,000 backdoor cuts in that span by Daigneault.
The Ukraine native poured in 10-points, three rebounds, and nearly 2 assists per game. His shooting splits of .43/.33/.70 are a tad misleading given the nature of the position OKC put him in.
With no Shai Gilgeous-Alexander down the stretch, he was asked to do too much ball-handling and creating for himself. Obviously, the circumstances around him in a historically bad offense forced him to take bad shots, and miss at a higher clip.
In just 30 games, featuring nine starts, the 6’7 forward was impressive. However, his age (24), limited upside, and a positional log-jam all worked against him.
Thus, the Thunder rescinded his qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent, and Mykhailiuk inked a deal with the Toronto Raptors.
A well-respected, and widely regarded as one of the smartest organizations in basketball, taking a flyer on Svi Mykhailiuk shows just how much he stood out with the OKC Thunder.
When the deal was first made Mykhailuk was viewed as a throw-in, many shrugged their shoulders on their way to making a “Sam Presti traded for another pick!” joke. Now, Svi Mykhailiuk has solidified an NBA future.