How the G League will Benefit Tre Mann, Other Young Thunder Prospects
Mark Daigneault is ready to use the Oklahoma City Thunder's G League affiliate, the Blue, to it's fullest extent. This is a year of discovery for this Thunder roster, and there are too many young prospects to discover all at once.
A rookie like Tre Mann who's briefly flashed some above-average NBA skills like being able to create space for himself and take off-the-dribble 3-pointers, is going to need playing time to sort through the rest of his game.
The trouble is, Theo Maledon and Ty Jerome are players that the Thunder coaching staff still need to flesh out. They're older than Mann, and should be prioritized first on the development pipeline because of that.
If you're Daigneault, you have to give minutes to the older guys so you can figure out what you have in them talent-wise. Spreading 10-15 minutes of floor time amongst all three is just delaying the discovery of their respective floors and ceilings. Maledon and Jerome need to be given the proper opportunity to either succeed or fail, and the G League gives them enough space on the Thunder to find that conclusion.
In the meantime, while Daigneault focuses on his second year prospects, he can now use the Blue as often as he wants to see what he has in players like Mann. Starting this season, the Blue will be playing in Paycom Arena with the Thunder. So Daigneault "sending someone" to the Blue will really just be asking them to show up to their usual court earlier in the day.
Daigneault said today that he is wouldn't count out the idea of having someone get minutes with the Blue during the early afternoon, then recall them to the Thunder for an evening game in the same building.
For Mann, he can spread his creative wings on the Blue. Try those stepbacks and crossovers all he wants, tighten up his positioning on defense against generally less-skilled opponents and build his confidence up. Mann's time in the pros will eventually come. For now though, it's time for Mann to let it fly in the G League.
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