Ajay Mitchell Career High 35 Points on 70% FG in 30 Minutes (14⁄20 FG, 4⁄7 3PT, 3⁄5 FT) 5 Assists, 1 Rebound
https://www.nba.com/game/okc-vs-mem-0022600029/box-score
Mans about to get a BAG. Who do the thunder get rid of to keep him????
We have him for two years , I think Presti will work some magic. I wouldn’t surprised if he gets moved at 3 million a year.
adam silver
I think Presti drafting a big in the 1st the last two draft points to us moving IHart after this season
nobody we pay him whatever he wants
I mean paying 4 max players at the same time is t possible, so one of the other ones I guess.
I think that was for Cason Wallace and the max deals kicking in.
Yeah the next move is Mara takes Hart’s role and then work from there
He’s very much Jalen Brunson clone. Same build, same playstyle - shit they’re both left handed. Sam isn’t gonna fuck this up like Dallas
Except Ajay is an elite defender
Yeah he’s gotta practice against SGA everyday. Get good or get embarrassed
Mark my words. He’s more untouchable to the Thunder than anyone other than SGA.
They will do whatever they need to retain him.
He provides them with much needed onball juice and rim pressure. Only downside for him is he’s kinda injury prone.
Between Chet and Jdub both having injury histories and being on maxes I wouldn’t be surprised if in 1-2 seasons one of them is traded
They are moving 2 of them within 3 seasons. This is the new NBA.
His main downside is hes not a great passer.
Chet is more valuable for his defense.
They could trade chet rn and not miss a beat
If they traded Ajay Mitchell rn they’d struggle to score 100 points.
Amazing how bad both of these statements are lol
Thunder scored less than 100 points twice in the last 5 games.
Bro come on now Chet is set to be a perennial All-Defense 1st team candidate
I agree with that. I also think they could play just fine with Mara/Hart/Kenrich
None of them are as individually as talented as Chet but they match the defensive production of chet easier than they could replace Mitchell’s offensive contribution.
… I swear this sub just loves to shit on Chet.
If it wasn’t for Wemby, Chet would be in discussion for DPOY every year, he’s that impactful on defense. And as a 3rd option, he’s exactly what you want. Not only is he is a defensive playmaking hub, he also spaces the floor and is the kind of big you want in today’s NBA.
Let’s cool it with the shit takes until the NBA is over please.
Chet is really good at defense. That doesn’t change what I said tho lol
Average top 1% commentator take.
They just held the hottest team in the league to under 100 points without Chet. Theyve also scored under 100 points twice in the last 5 games.
Not sure how what I said is controversial lol.
These are such bad takes Jesus
How so? Mara/Hartenstein/Kenrich are holding down the front Court just fine without Chet.
Outside of Mitchell, SGA, and SGA the Thunder have one player averaging double figures with Jared Mccain at 10.
But useless against Spurs/Wemby.
Didn’t watch the first game of the season award
Hes great but hard disagree here. Chet is the second best defender in the league and anchors the #1 defence.
Ajay is a fucken wizard in the paint tho
Wemby, Ausar, and Rudy are all better defenders.
Wemby, ofc. The other 2? Based on? Chet was nearly unanimously second in dpoy last year, and OKC was by far the best defensive team when he was on the court
You are correct. But tbh I still feel this way about Wallace, dub, Caruso, and IHart
He’s still 4th imo, but its very close. A healthy Dub is a potential top 5 wing that can defend 1-5 and still put up Ajay’s numbers offensively.
That being said, I agree he’s untouchable.
He could genuinely get a 50 this season. He is so good
x3
A 150?!? 👀 👀
Nah he’s just gonna get added to the list sga work out with
Bingo
Went from a nice 2nd round steal on a stacked championship team to the 2nd most important player on the team with the injuries. Life comes at you fast.
He’s been getting buckets since the Lakers series
Brother. Wayyyyyy before that.
We spawned another SGA from 2nd round
Baby Brunson
might be the quietest 35 ive ever seen lmao. Broadcasters said he had a new career high after a bucket and it totally caught me off guard
I mean he was frying them bro lol 4⁄5 from 3 in the 1st half
I know OKC is somehow able to play a 10 guard rotation but the existence of Ajay Mitchell made the Cason extension really weird for me. Especially with Ajays much higher ceiling.
I mean we had to pay him. Even if it’s just to trade. Nobody is walking in FA
I just thought they should have traded him before extending him. But regardless yes, they’ll still be able to trade him in the future. Definitely not saying they should have let him walk
Losing Dort and Cason in one offseason would have been terrible team construction wise and also team chemistry
You play it out and trade Cason if it comes down to it when Ajay contract is up. Until then, trust the Presti
I mean what do you want back out of it? One small contract guy or maybe 3 small contracts that you can then move around? I’m not sure exactly how it works, but in a weird way you need big cap in the guys you are trading or you probably won’t get a lot back
Caso’s on-ball defense is better and if he continues to develop his offensive game, he could be as good or better.
it’s wild how when a Thunder player goes out, everyone forgets how good they are. Caso was like the Thunder’s 3rd, at times 2nd best player in the WCF last year.
“Could be as good or better”
I’m sorry I love Cason but he hasn’t sniffed the offense that Ajay has been able to produce, even with development it would be pretty unbelievable for him to reach this level
we haven’t seen Cason attempt this many shots. obviously he’s not nearly as good of a slasher as Ajay, but their shooting %’s are almost identical, Ajay’s volume has just gone up considerably. Cason is arguably a better 3 point shooter and also very good at finishing at the rim.
Cason’s career high in points is 27. Ajay just set his career high with 35.
the gap isn’t nearly as big as you make it out to be. basically any time Cason has taken 12-15 shots, he’s scoring 20-25 points. he could average 20 pts/gm easily.
The biggest difference is ball handling. The ball seems really secure in Ajay’s hand and he can navigate around the court far better than Cason. It becomes clear as day against tough defenses like SAS. Ajay can still get to where he wants but Cason is mostly taking what the defense gives him and going where it allows.
When he takes more shots he scores more is true of every nba player
Cason will never be half the offensive player Ajay is
we have actually. We saw how cason on-balll game look like with the injuries last season. Not to mention he didn’t step up in playoffs against spurs but mccain did.
The Thunder have always liked an elite POA defender at the 2 and should they have to choose between the two to retain the other it’s not like Cason’s contract can’t be traded.
We can always trade someone like Cason though he won’t lack options it’s best to lock up players and then go from there
It’s also just better for the player too. OKC is a powerhouse because they build incredible relationships with players, develop them, pay them and then see how things play out from there.
Cason’s defense is miles better though
The gap between their offense is much bigger than their defense
Are we gonna act like Cason doesn’t have an all defensive second team in one of the most stacked years for defense in recent memory? Ajay is nowhere near that defensively
Presti doesn’t like letting value walk. I won’t be surprised if Cason is eventually traded.
It was never a question of not paying Cason. It might become who to keep between them next summer, or at latest, the summer after. And then the choice is simple, trade Cason and get picks back.
But two of three of these will be gone within two years. Cason, Hartenstein, Caruso
They are way different players. We needed Cason after losing Dort.
Okc depth is just incredible. Presti and their talent development is just a gold standard
AJAY YOUVE SAVED MY LIFE
It’s crazy how deep the OKC team is and how good they are despite the tough injuries.
Ajay > AR no matter what r/Lakers say
He also plays good defense, which goes underrated as he’s covered, Booker, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and he guards up as well
he proved that last year. he was the best player in the series.
if AR plays for the Thunder then it’ll be the refs that make him good
Lakers whistle is so weak, he needs an upgrade 😅
I dont understand how he fell in the deaft. He had the college stats, he had the athleticism, he wasnt too small
He also defended Ty pretty well for large parts of this game
Ajay all star incoming
He demolishes mid teams
Ballin
I’m certain the thunder will run it back next year with this group potentially minus Ihart. If Sorber is decent then that decision is obvious. But if Mitchell has another strong year and one of Chet or Dub gets injured again they’ll offload one of them.
As a fan I love them and won us our first title but the best attribute is availability. If Dub struggles next year or Chet with health you just offload and give the keys to Ajay as #2
We’re gonna be alright 👍🏽
Saucy
He’s a stud lol
In Ajay we trust
And we picked Jonathan Mogbo over him
Exhibit like H of how stacked the Thunder actually are.
They go like 9 deep of people who would start (or at least be a highly involved 6th man) on most other teams.
More fuel for the fire of basketball being a team game too. People are so obsessed with the individual aspect of the game. SGA vs Wemby, SGA vs Jokic, championship vs championship to declare who is a better individual.
Remember when we are judging players that whats around them matters just as much if not more than what they themselves are doing as far as how their teams perform.