Orlando Summer League, Day 5: A Farewell to Thunder Basketball For the Summer (Kind Of)

Oklahoma City Thunder 89, Utah Jazz 75

Well, before I start this recap, I'll be honest and say that I didn't catch today's game. I was foolish and didn't think there would be a game before the 10 AM slot. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to play basketball at 7 AM? I know, I'm a bad blogger. But it's not like the game didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I would go back an re-watch it, but I'm not paying 15 bucks for Summer League Broadband. That's more silly than playing a game at 7 AM.

Headliners

Garrett Temple, 12 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 2 Steals, 2 Turnovers (Thunder Wonder)

It's a pretty legit line, and from what I've seen of the other games, Temple fit into his role as the guy who scored when pressure was drawn by Lazar Hayward and Reggie Jackson. He hit the open jumpers and got a few hustle stats. You can't ask much more of the guy. Considering that his lines are similar in caliber to that of Reggie Jackson and Lazar Hayward, I wouldn't be surprised to see him on a Pre-Season roster come October.

Latavious Williams, 11 Points, 10 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 6 Fouls, 1 Steal, 2 Turnovers, 1 Block (Thunder Down Under)

He's a decent big man, but it was hard for him to find minutes with Perry Jones III on the roster, and he couldn't score very well with nobody to set him up. But he did well in the Spanish ACB league last year, and I think he's pretty close to getting at an NBA level. Still, I doubt he plays for the Thunder or 66ers next season.

Reggie Jackson, 14 Points, 1 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal, 3 Turnovers

The most important aspect of his role in tonight's game is amazing slam he had, which you can watch if you click the link above. Anyway, it was a typical day for Reggie Jackson. Decent scorer on this level, but he needs to improve his handling of the ball.

Lazar Hayward, 15 Points, 4-10 Shooting, 3 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 1 Steal, 3 Turnovers

Yep, Lazar Hayward played just like he did in earlier contests. He probably spent most of his time in isolation sets, trying to outwill his opponent to the basket or pulling up for gamey jumpers. His performance was efficient, so I can't really fault him, but I doubt he'll ever play that role in a regular season game. Also, his name is NOT HAYWOOD!

Ryan Reid, 8 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 5 Steals

The perfect teammate. He'll do good for Tulsa next year. I'm still amazed at the number of steals he had.

Cole Aldrich, 4 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Turnover (Thunder Blunder)

All I've gotta say is....we're entrusting minutes to this guy?!

The Enemy

Enes Kanter, 15 Points, 8 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal

I don't know if he's the next Shaq, but his performance gives me hope that the classical big man can make a return to the NBA.

Jeremy Evans, 11 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 3 Steals, 4 Block

He had a pretty sick highlight dunk, and it looks like he hustled

Michael Stockton, 0 Assists

The son of John Stockton has no assists?!

And, with that, the Summer League concludes for the Thunder. They will not be fielding a team in Vegas this week. With the Thunder signing Hollis Thompson, it looks like they won't be taking any player from their Summer League roster onto their actual roster. But, with possible trades always looming and some players guaranteed to be signed on for Training Camp, the potential for these guys to wear a Thunder uniform in the future is always there.

Also, Team USA will be playing exhibitions over the next couple of weeks, and we will have full coverage of that along with Olympic basketball, in which Serge Ibaka will be participating for Spain.