The Oklahoma City Thunder had a great start to the offseason by trading for Alex Caruso, and signing Isaiah Hartenstein. Now that free agency is all but finished for the Thunder. Their focus will shift to the Summer League, where they try to develop young players. The Thunder will kick off their 2024 summer league in Salt Lake City for a three-game, three-night event. Today, we are going to break down everything you need to know heading into the Thunder’s summer league.
The Thunder’s first game is July 8th at 7:00 PM ET against the Philadelphia 76ers. They will follow that game up on July 9th at 9:00 PM ET against the Utah Jazz. Finally, they will wrap up in Salt Lake City on July 10th at 7:00 PM ET against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder’s roster will be headlined by third-year man Ousmane Dieng, second-year man Keyontae Johnson, and their two rookies Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell.
Thunder Announces 2024 Summer League Roster 📋
🔗 | https://t.co/ZtPO4LbGmX pic.twitter.com/7I6kTW7mU4
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 7, 2024
OKC Thunder Salt Lake City Summer League Preview
How will Ousmane Dieng look?
This is Dieng’s third year in the summer league and he is still the oldest player on their summer league roster. After spending his first two seasons mostly on OKC Blue to develop, ending this year with G-League Finals MVP. Dieng is looking to put everything together developmentally, as he is looking to have a good outing. To go along with that, this is also a big moment in Dieng’s development. Where the Thunder could look to move off him as a project player if he doesn’t show signs of improvement. The Thunder drafted him as a project player in 2022 and made big strides last year in the G-League. He will look to build off that in this Summer League as he is hoping to be more involved in the Thunder’s rotation.
How will OKC use Dillon Jones?
Dillon Jones will be the Thunder’s lone first-round pick participating in the Summer League, or at all on the court next season. Jones was asked to do a lot for Weber State last year and part of that was to play point guard. However, on the Thunder, he will most likely be a forward and play off-ball more. It will be interesting to see how Jones will adapt to being off-ball more. To go along with that, will the Thunder just play him at forward or will they allow him to play a little bit at point guard as well? Regardless, him being six-foot-six at 235 pounds is going to be fun watching him attack downhill in the summer league.
Will Keyontae Johnson get the final roster spot?
Keyontae Johnson was the Thunder’s second-round pick last year and was on a two-way contract. With the Thunder using all of their two-way contracts up this year. Johnson’s only chance to be on the roster will be on a standard contract. The Thunder don’t usually give up on a player’s development after just one season with the team. However, he could still be a member of the OKC Blue if he is not signed to a standard contract. Johnson didn’t play well when he got his chances last year averaging 1.2 points per game. However, he did show flashes of promise when he was playing in the G-league last year. If Johnson can have a strong summer he is the most likely candidate for the Thunder’s final roster spot.
Will Jack Gohlke get an NBA opportunity?
Jack Gohlke made a name for himself in March Madness last year after he dropped 32 points to knock out Kentucky. All of his points in that game came from the three-point line as he only attempted eight shots that weren’t threes last year for Oakland. If he wants any shot of making it to the NBA he will have to become more than just a three-point shooter. However, if he does get an NBA opportunity somewhere, most likely a two-way deal, it most likely won’t be with the Thunder. It will be interesting if the Thunder give him the green light like he had at Oakland, or even draw up sets for him. Regardless, he will still have to show more this summer than just shooting threes in hopes of making it in the NBA.
