OKC Thunder: Josh Giddey throws his hat in ROY race
This past summer the OKC Thunder arrived to draft night with six potential selections in hand. As expected, executive VP and general manager, Sam Presti didn’t opt to convey all six selections. While there were rumors the bespeckled executive was trying to package those picks to move up into the top four he kept the sixth pick to grab Australian point guard Josh Giddey.
Presti did shift some of the picks to future seasons but made four selections in all. After trading the 16th pick to the Rockets (Alperen Sengun), the OKC Thunder selected Tre Mann with the 18th pick. Next, he packaged the 34th and 36th picks to move up to 32nd and select Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and finished the night by selecting Aaron Wiggins with the 55th pick.
This 2021 draft class was noted as one of the deepest in years containing multiple generational talents, quality role players, and more mature developed prospects. Virtually every mock draft cited a clear top four as a cut above the rest: Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, and the two Jalen’s — Green and Suggs. But as per usual when the names were called even that quartet didn’t go according to plan.
OKC Thunder guard Josh Giddey in ROY race after two weeks of action
Intentions have our biases but it’s not hard to include OKC Thunder rookie Josh Giddey in our top five given how well he’s performed this season. With that in mind, I dove into this deep rookie class with a view to who the top five rookies are through two weeks of action.
First a note on a few rookies who have underperformed and are likely to make their mark before the season finishes.
The two players who’ve failed to meet expectations in the early season are the two Jalen’s — Suggs and Green. Each is playing on a team not likely to be in the playoff mix but are raising questions regarding their fit even this early in the equation.
Suggs is hampered by trying to do too much and while he had a decent showing in Toronto it was clear Cole Anthony had embraced this team as his own. That’s not a bad thing but for a player like Suggs who is used to being the alpha dog, it certainly is creating hesitancy on his part. How much more he’ll be impacted once Markelle Fultz returns adding yet another playmaking guard into the mix is the big question.
As for Green, he’s taking a ton of bad shots and forcing his will on the game. He’s a rookie on a lottery team so that’s expected and there will be nights where he connects. The more appealing Rockets rookie from Intention’s perspective is Alperen Sengun (were still annoyed the OKC Thunder traded) who in direct contrast to Green doesn’t force his will onto the game or call his own number.
In fact, he seems almost hesitant opting to defer to Christian Wood, Green, or Porter Jr. That Sengun lands on several top 50 hustle categories speak to him being invested in the game. We’ll monitor this moving forward but I hope the big guy stops diverting and recognizes if he has the better shot or matchup to take it instead of giving way to the Rockets’ gunners who never saw a shot they didn’t like.
A couple of other rookies who don’t make Intentions top five have also impressed. Michael Malone has used Bones Hyland in limited minutes but his effect is noticeable. Here’s hoping Malone opts to give him more run particularly if Michael Porter Jr. keeps struggling. Likewise, Herb Jones in New Orleans has been a defensive revelation. It’s hard to imagine where the Pelicans would rank defensively without his presence.