On Friday, the OKC Thunder offloaded Isaiah Joe to the Detroit Pistons in a cost-cutting trade that netted them two future second-round picks.
The swingman just posted a career-best campaign in 2025-26, one where he served as a highly reliable offensive weapon off the pine for Oklahoma City and provided the club with lights-out long-range shooting and impressive spark plug scoring skills.
Though he may have found his role in the rotation regress during the latter stages of their ill-fated playoff run, his reliable services will certainly be missed come next season.
Fortunately, however, it appears the Thunder may have already managed to snatch up a direct replacement for his player archetype in the likes of first-round rookie Bennett Stirtz.
Bennett Stirtz makes Isaiah Joe trade easier pill for Thunder to swallow
While it may take some time for him to catch up to the efficiency levels and, frankly, the role I-Joe had in Oklahoma City over the past several years with the team, Stirtz has all the tools necessary to take on the duties once held by the now departed veteran.
Selected 16 overall in Tuesday's draft, the 22-year-old finds himself coming into the pros fresh off a First-team All-Big Ten campaign at the University of Iowa. Stirtz was a major problem for defenses to match up against during his lone season with the Hawkeyes, posting averages of 19.8 points on 47.7 percent shooting from the floor and 35.8 percent shooting from deep.
While he may have served primarily as an on-ball offensive creator on the collegiate stage, what should help him come across playing time with the Thunder is his ability to capitalize on opportunities off the pass, as he cashed home on roughly 52 percent of his catch-and-shoot looks this past season.
Considering OKC just ranked eighth in field goal attempts off such sets, such a skill set should certainly come in handy right off the bat, especially with their top catch-and-shoot option in Joe (boasted a 64.4 effective field goal percentage) no longer in tow.
While the expectation should be that the Thunder plan to ease Stirtz into the swing of things, based on the footage and stats, the combo guard has the makings of becoming a dynamic shooter and quality offensive contributor at the next level, and, in theory, could one day become a borderline seamless replacement for Joe in the rotation once he catches up to speed.
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