East team swipes up fifth former Thunder player in a span of six months

One team's trash is another team's treasure. At least, that seems to be the mentality that the Charlotte Hornets are living by when it comes to excommunicated OKC Thunder players.

Over the past calendar year, Oklahoma City has seen several shakeups within its talent pool and on-court rotation, with many players coming and going, all resulting from the front office's efforts to better the club's odds of claiming their first-ever championship banner.

With these moving pieces, the Hornets have regularly found themselves reaping the benefits, as they've snatched up numerous former Thunder players over the past year.

From their signing of former first-round talent Aleksej Pokusevski back in February after being waived by the franchise to their trade deadline acquisition of Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, and Vasilije Micic as part of the Gordon Hayward trade, Charlotte has stocked up on ex-Loud City residents throughout just a six month period.

Now, as of August 20, the Eastern Conference club has added yet another to their collection, as Priority Sports reports that Keyontae Johnson has agreed to terms on a deal with the Hornets.

Former OKC Thunder wing Keyontae Johnson signs with Hornets

Selected 50 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft following an impressive five-year collegiate stint and a breakout 2022-23 campaign at Kansas State where he averaged 17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 516. percent shooting from the floor and 40.5 percent shooting from deep, Johnson spent the majority of his one-year tenure with the Thunder in the development league.

Through 25 games played with the OKC Blue, the 24-year-old played a key role within coach Kameron Woods's rotation, as he posted impressive averages of 19.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 39.2 percent from deep en route to a selection to the NBA G League Next Up Game and, more importantly, an NBA G League Championship.

Measuring in at 6-foot-5, 229 pounds, Johnson boasts a build of a modern-day two-three hybrid, and this coupled with his catch-and-shoot abilities (splashed home 43 percent on such attempts in the G League) should provide him with a much easier path toward playing time with the Hornets compared to what he found with the Thunder.