Don't look now, but the young player the OKC Thunder recently rid their payroll of is the exact same one currently leading the charge for their Summer League team.
Payton Sandfort, the undrafted Iowa wing Oklahoma City snatched up on a two-way deal this past March, recently had his contract waived by the franchise.
However, he remains a part of the club's SL squad and, coincidentally, is producing like one of the best ballers on their roster so far in the annual offseason event.
Payton Sandfort sinks his 4th three 🎯
— NBA (@NBA) July 7, 2026
He has a game-high 25 PTS in Salt Lake City Summer League action! pic.twitter.com/5uBCD9rE5j
Recently, while coming off the bench in a showdown against Atlanta, Sandfort dropped a whopping 25 points on 60.0 percent shooting from the floor and 66.7 percent shooting from deep. Through three games played, he leads all Thunder players in points with 12.7 per night.
Throughout his rookie campaign in the association, the former Hawkeye showed potential to become a reliable offensive contributor, especially in his limited action with the varsity team, where, over four outings and while logging 15.8 minutes per game, he registered averages of 8.8 points on 41.2 percent shooting from deep.
Of course, despite these flashes and his team-best scoring output in this year's Summer League, the odds of Sandfort returning to the team seem slim to none, especially considering OKC's final two-way spot will likely end up going to the recently selected second-round guard Otega Oweh.
Nevertheless, his play could still help him land a new deal with a rival club or, selfishly, help keep him with the G League affiliate, the OKC Blue, for the 2026-27 season.
Thunder lottery pick struggling in Summer League
While the 2025 undrafted free agent may be playing beyond his pay grade, recent lottery selection Aday Mara seems to be producing below his.
Though it's admittedly irresponsible to put considerable stock in Summer League action, the big man has appeared sluggish and, in many ways, over his head during his first few games since being taken 12 overall in last month's draft.
In 22.7 minutes per contest, Mara finds himself dropping averages of just 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds. Now, while he's certainly lived up to the hype as a stellar rim protector, as he's also swatting 3.0 shots per game, in a way, his 4.0 turnovers arguably negate this impact he's had.
While Mara was certainly upfront coming into the league about how he might need some time to become the kind of player the Thunder selected him to be, this start to his NBA tenure isn't exactly what the team was expecting.
Hopefully he can pick it up during the Vegas stretch of the festivities.
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