Thunder U, a history of development

With the news that the Oklahoma City Thunder have recently hired a new development coach, I wanted to take a look back at some of the successful development projects the Thunder have taken on in the past, and some that they are hoping to hit gold on in the next few seasons.

Serge Ibaka - 2008 Draft, pick 24

Serge Ibaka came into the 2008 draft looking more like a volleyball player than a basketball player. He had awesome physical tools-a lean frame, massive wingspan and major bounce. What he lacked, was shooting touch and basketball IQ. He quickly became a shot blocking force, leading the league in blocks per game a few seasons and a consistent DPOY candidate. But was nearly unplayable on offense if he wasn't receiving a pass next to the basket his first season. Each off-season saw Serge put in work on the offensive end. It started simple, one season he could shoot 5 feet away from the basket, the next he could extend to the free throw line and the short corners, inside the 3 point line. Eventually he would add a consistent 3 point shot from the corners and top of the key. However, the offensive BBIQ never increased, there was always a slight hesitation as he pondered his next move: pass or shoot. And it seemed the more he became a 3 point threat (the original unicorn), the league began to imitate him. Now with shot blocking, three point shooting, big men everywhere Serge has seemed to have lost a step. He was traded to Orlando for Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sobanis, and Ersan Ilyasova - who were all later moved for Paul George and Jeremy Grant.

Reggie Jackson - 2011 Draft, pick 24

Reggie entered the league after his sophomore season at Boston College. At the time he was drafted, the Thunder already had Russell Westbrook, James Hardin, and Eric Maynor to handle the ball. He didn't see much time his rookie campaign, but honed his craft with the then Tulsa Blue, the D-League affiliate of the Thunder. His sophomore season saw more playing time with the Thunder, as Eric Maynor tore his ACL. But the mid-season signing of Derek Fisher cut his minutes down, appearing in 70 games, Jackson averaged 14.2 minutes 5.3 ppg and 1.7, but there were plenty of flashes of the player he was to become. In his final season with the Thunder, '13-'14, Jackson minutes doubled to 28.5 in the wake of Russell Westbrook's injury. In increased playing time, Jackson saw his ppg increase to 13.1 and apg jump to 4.1. Before the '14-'15 trade deadline, Reggie Jackson cried tears of joy as he was traded to be the starting Point Guard for the Detroit Pistons. This trade net the Thunder Enes Kanter, who in a later move was sent to New York for Carmelo Anthony, who was moved this off-season for

Dennis Schröder. The more things change, the more they stay the same?

Andre Roberson - 2013 Draft, pick 26

Andre entered the league as an undersized Power Forward out of Colorado, at 6'7" 206 pounds. He entered the draft after his junior year, in which he earned the Pac-12 DPOY. After he was drafted the Thunder moved him to Shooting Guard in the mold of Thabo Sefolosha. In the years since he was drafted, 'Dre has gone from 10 minutes per game to a career high 30.1 in 2016-17. His offensive game has never been one to write home about, but he has made his living (and a nice 4 year 40 m contract) off of his defense. Roberson can take on nearly any assignment, able to guard up to 4 positions, power forward to point guard. Often he takes the opposing teams top offensive wing or guard. When healthy, during the 2017-18 season, Roberson had a Defensive net rating of 96.4 and the offense, despite his limitations, was still clicking with a rating of 106.4. This off-season rumors have run rampant of Andre working out with esteemed shooting coach Chris Matthews, Twitter handle @LethalShooter_, so let us hope for some improvement on that front.

Now, thanks for Presti's love for sustainability, the Thunder are stocked with a new Thunder U group.

As part of the Carmelo Anthony deal, the Thunder also acquired Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot - 2016 Draft, pick 24. And in the last two drafts picked up some flight brothers, Terrance Ferguson - 2017 Draft, pick 21 and Hamidou Diallo - 2018 Draft, pick 45. In separate moves, Presti essentially swapped Dakari Johnson for Abdel Nader, 2016 Draft, pick 58 and signed his Iowa State running mate, Deonte Burton - 2017 Draft, undrafted, Korea League foreign Player MVP 2017-18.

Not all of these players are going to pan out while they don the Thunder blue, most of the skill sets of this group overlap. TLC, T-Ferg, Hami, and Nader are all wings, and Burton is some sort of amalgam of Marcus Smart and Draymond Green, a 6'5" 250 lbs point guard. They have all shown defensive chops and the ability to knock down an open 3 pointer. But there is only so much playing time to go around, and with PG and a healthy Dre, there may be only 36 mpg. Throw in Schröder and Felton as running mates with Russ and that number only goes down. I suspect that Presti will attempt to develop and build these players worth in the G-League under Mark Daigneault's tutelage.

Terrance Ferguson may be the exception to the rest of these wings, as he saw significant playing time in 2017-18. Fergy already has 2 years of professional basketball under his belt. One in Australia, and his rookie campaign, in which he saw the court in 61 games and averaged 3.1 ppg on 41/33/90 shooting splits, in 12.5 minutes per game. 2K showed us what type of potential he has on January 3rd against the Lakers he scored 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting. Most coming in the second half.

Only time will tell how this latest batch of youngsters works out for Sam Presti and the Thunder, but the future looks bright.