Will Jeremiah Robinson-Earl survive the OKC Thunder Roster Crunch?
By Parker Eaves
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is entering his third year with the OKC Thunder after being drafted thirty-second overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. The OKC Thunder traded up in the draft to select the Villanova product. He was part of the same draft class as current OKC Thunder players Josh Giddey, Tre Mann, and Aaron Wiggins.
He has two years remaining on his rookie deal with a team option for the 2024-2025 season. Robinson-Earl’s contract for this season became guaranteed on June 30th, 2023, and is due 1.9 million dollars this year and the same mark if OKC picks up his club option next summer.
The OKC Thunder are forced into making a tough call on once promising big man, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has played in 92 games across two seasons with the OKC Thunder and started in 56 of them. He missed almost half of the 2022-2023 NBA season with a grade three ankle sprain that kept him out from the middle of December to the middle of February. The same ankle injury also kept him out for most of the Las Vegas Summer this year, and he only played in one game.
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Robinson-Earl is trying to find minutes in a crowded swing man rotation. Robinson-Earl saw his minutes and games played decrease from his first year to his second year. Injuries have been the main issue for him, especially a nagging ankle jury that he suffered last December.
Robinson-Earl is still a young player at 22 years old but is entering his third season in the NBA. You saw a regression in efficiency from Robinson-Earl from year one to year two. By the end of the year, he was at the end of the rotation, with players like Dario Saric and rookie Jaylin Williams jumping ahead of him in the pecking order.
This training camp is vital for Jeremiah Robinson-Earl if he wants to stay on this OKC Thunder team. He has show that his ankle is healthy and return to his rookie season forum. The question remains: Was it just a sophomore slump, or was last year’s production who Robinson-Earl is?