I don't know how many people... are humble enough to go in the Hall of Fame in September. And then take an assistant coaching job in May or June. But he's one of them.
"I don't know how many people... are humble enough to go in the Hall of Fame in September. And then take an assistant coaching job in May or June. But he's one of them." Thunder coach Mark Daigneault on Billy Donovan joining Mitch Johnson's Spurs staff.
Jared McCain, after Thunder practice: "My mental's great. My physical's great. Body feels great." He sees his role as spacing and "finding windows" for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell when doubled; his confidence, he says, doesn't hinge on minutes.
Oklahoma City rookie Otega Oweh is out for the season. Kenrich Williams, after practice: "Yeah, it sucked. Like, it just like gives you a bad feeling... especially for a guy like him, like rookie, like was playing, was playing pretty good."
Cason Wallace will make the Thunder's biggest jump this season, Kenrich Williams says: "I'm calling it right now." Asked if Chet Holmgren's contusion, which kept him out all preseason, could linger, coach Mark Daigneault didn't commit: "I'll leave it to the injury report."
Oklahoma City came out of its Oct. 15 preseason game healthy, Mark Daigneault said. With Chet Holmgren and J-Will out, the Thunder tried a big-to-big action: "We've never worked on it. I don't know if you could tell." It showed what they'd need to work on if they explore it.
The Thunder started Josh Dix in the second half with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Aday Mara. "We wanted to see him with the returning rotation players," Mark Daigneault said. Otega Oweh was hurt in overtime, his second setback; no status given.
Zhaire Smith sat the second half of Oklahoma City's Oct. 12 preseason game and all of regulation against Indiana on Oct. 13, then entered in overtime. "He goes in fresh in overtime and was ready to play," Mark Daigneault said after the Thunder erased a 20-point deficit.
Aday Mara's passing was the plan in Oklahoma City's Oct. 12 preseason game. Playmaking hasn't been a foundational priority for him, Mark Daigneault said, but Mara earned the chance. Bennett Stirtz said they clicked after a rough first half, including a couple of alley-oops.
Brooks Barnhizer hit a late corner 3 after struggling to shoot in Oklahoma City's Oct. 12 preseason game. Mark Daigneault said he's on a good trajectory, but "it's really not the role he would play, you know, with our full team."
"I think all 9 of us just seized the opportunity," Bennett Stirtz said of Oklahoma City's nine-man preseason roster, many with no G League or NBA experience. He played 37 minutes, hunting 3-pointers late with the paint packed; Mark Daigneault said pressure isn't new for him.
Most, if not all, of the Thunder's returning rotation players will not travel to Atlanta for the preseason back-to-back, Mark Daigneault said at practice, so they're ready for Indiana. Only rookies, two-way and Exhibit 10 players go: "We'll have 9 total guys in Atlanta."
Otega Oweh has the intelligence and physical tools of a "prototype wing defender," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said at practice. "And now it's just a matter of getting him the time." His fouling, Daigneault said, comes from getting out of position.
Ajay Mitchell's defense is a main reason for his minutes, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said at practice, pointing to Mitchell taking playoff matchups against Austin Reaves and Devin Booker: "It just gives us more lineup flexibility."
Bennett Stirtz ran the offense through college but is playing more away from the ball for the Thunder. "Whatever team needs me to win, I'm gonna do," the rookie said at practice. Still learning where to be on defense, he admitted "my head's kind of spinning out there."
Kenrich Williams usually ends up guarding power forwards and sometimes centers, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said at practice Oct. 9. On offense, Daigneault called him a system player who keeps the ball moving, and said his quality as a player can be overlooked.
Bennett Stirtz left the Thunder's Oct. 6 preseason game with an ankle issue but played Oct. 7, the second night of the back-to-back. Mark Daigneault said Stirtz "obviously went out with the ankle thing" and "had to get some recovery in" before playing again.
Aday Mara is getting post touches from Thunder veterans unprompted, which Mark Daigneault called "a sign of trust" for a rookie big. Teammates also run the floor for his deep outlet passes and look for him rolling to the rim, Daigneault said after the Oct. 7 preseason game.
Jared McCain on why Thunder teammates bring the ball up for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: "he's always guarded by the best player. When he has to take the ball up, he's getting tired." Mark Daigneault lets McCain take tough shots, but "when you take a bad one, he'll let you know."
Aday Mara logged long stretches in the Thunder's Oct. 6 preseason game. Mark Daigneault credited his offseason conditioning: "that's a lot of days that he stacked up with his head down on his body." Mara credited strength coach MJ, who came to Spain to work with him.
Josh Dix drew tough defensive assignments in the Thunder's Oct. 6 preseason game, and Mark Daigneault said he delivered: "he did the job." Daigneault said Dix's confident game matched how he had practiced in the days leading up to it.
Bennett Stirtz, used to having the ball, is still learning to play off it, Mark Daigneault said after the Thunder's Oct. 6 preseason game. But Daigneault liked how Stirtz balanced aggression with running the offense, calling Oct. 6 "actually his best day" of camp.
Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain, Kenrich Williams, Brooks Barnhizer, the rookies and camp invites get a long look Oct. 6 with the Thunder's regulars resting. Mark Daigneault: "it gives us a good indicator of where these guys are after a week of camp."
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace travel but rest Oct. 6 after a high-intensity camp day, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said; all six play Oct. 7. Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber also sit, "still limited."
"He laid the foundation for what we stand on now." Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said Russell Westbrook's retirement was a little shocking because he felt Westbrook had more left, and credited him with building the franchise and the city.
The Thunder's high-minute players won't play all 5 preseason games, Mark Daigneault said at practice; the back-to-backs are deliberate and free up practice time. Rookies will play all 5: "they've never done that before. So they need to play 5 games in however many days it is."
Thunder 1/2
Mark Daigneault says the Thunder's Exhibit 10 camp signees are good enough that fans will see them in games. With 17 on the roster, "we're trying to create options all the time." Of the rookies: "they can get better in 4 days. And all those guys did."
Thunder 2/2
Jared McCain, in a first full Thunder camp, is learning base plays and defense; Mark Daigneault expects him to be "more confident" on defense. Alex Caruso said "there's more fouls than defense being played" as players learn to guard without hands.
From Thunder practice: Jalen Williams says he enters the season "Super healthy. Shot feels amazing." He says he is stepping into an "older-ish guy vet role." Kenrich Williams says newcomer Aday Mara has potential to be "a first-team, second-team, all-defensive type of guy."
Ajay Mitchell, who ended last season injured, "got himself healthy" over the summer and "his body looks great," Mark Daigneault said at Thunder practice. He cited Mitchell's work on Austin Reaves as proof "he's to the point now where he's taken on primary matchups for us."
Daigneault on Russell Westbrook's retirement: "one of the giants of the game, not only in Oklahoma City, but in the history of the league." On the new push-off emphasis: fine if called consistently, but defenders may start "flailing to try to bait those calls."