It's no secret that OKC Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell is a budding star. From starting out of the gates hot to turning heads in the playoffs, Mitchell established himself as a two-way force this year and is not looking back.
When healthy, Mitchell has been OKC's x-factor, giving them a much-needed ball handler off the bench. There is one glaring problem, however, and it's starting to become a bit of a trend. The second-year player has been injured... a lot.
Over his first two years, Mitchell has played in just 57.4 percent of possible games. He has missed numerous stretches due to soft tissue injuries, strains, and sprains, and it's becoming more of the status quo than a string of isolated incidents. Luckily, the Thunder could acquire some much-needed insurance in this year's draft that could protect them from this problem, and it would cost them next to nothing.
Thunder insurance pick is waiting for them with no competition
Arizona's Jaden Bradley is going at the back end of the second round in mock drafts, well after the Thunder's 37th overall pick.
Bradley never posted flashy stats over his four-year college career, but he provided a sense of veteran poise to the Wildcat offense. What he lacks in upside, he makes up for in consistency and defensive hustle. In short, he is a poor man's Ajay Mitchell.
Bleacher Report tagged Davion Mitchell as Bradley's NBA comparison, which might be exactly what OKC needs buried in their depth chart.
The pick would serve as a backup plan in case Ajay Mitchell goes down with yet another injury. As deep as the Thunder are, there is no need for a homerun swing, especially so deep in the draft. It was clear that when he was sidelined in the postseason, coach Mark Daigneault had no one else to turn to, and OKC fell short against the Spurs, in large part because they were one ball handler short.
If the same thing were to happen again next season, Daigneault could at least rely on the fact that he has another calming presence at the helm of the second unit's offensive attack. Bradley wouldn't need to be a spark plug; he would just need to keep things afloat.
Though it's unclear if general manager Sam Presti will even elect to keep all three of his team's draft picks this year, it seems smart to spend them on insurance policies, especially with the past few years of injury reports. If the Thunder continue to play deep into the playoffs, backup options will only become more and more essential.
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