Thunder Roster Crunch: Vit Krejci
The Oklahoma City Thunder near August carrying 18 players on standard contracts, two two-way signees, and a pair of Exhibit-10 signees. With the league maximum for training camp set at 20 players and the final standard roster capping at 15 – the Oklahoma City Thunder will need to make some transactions.
While the Thunder made some strides earlier in July, waiving Isaiah Roby and JaMychal Green, Sam Presti and company will need to make some tough calls surrounding the roster.
With a bevy of potential rotational pathways, let’s break down Vit Krejci, who will be looking to make the final 15-man roster.
Bio:
Krejci was selected 38th by the Washington Wizards in the 2020 NBA Draft, subsequently being dealt to the Thunder in exchange for two second-round selections. After tearing his ACL in September of 2020, he did not participate for the Thunder in the 2020-21 season. But, he did move to Oklahoma City in January 2021 to further rehab.
The guard played between the Oklahoma City Blue and Thunder for his rookie season, concluding his Thunder campaign averaging 6.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists (30 games.)
Contract:
Krejci is entering his second season under contract. He is partially guaranteed $781,759 for the upcoming season. However, his full-scale $1.5 million deal will be guaranteed on January 10, 2023.
Selling Points:
Krejci fits in the mold of the Thunder’s rebuilding blueprint, even with the influx of new rookie talent. At 6-foot-8, the 22-year-old carries the ball-handling ability in line with most of its backcourt roster while also showing flashes of being a steady piece playing off-the-ball as well.
Positionless basketball has been part of the agenda in the Thunder’s rebuild. Krejci fits in it. Because of his guard-like skills in his frame, he can play the three position. But with the Thunder’s vast assortment of handlers, he can almost be used as a flex – not carrying one true position.
With the Oklahoma City Blue, Krejci showed flashes of being a highly-skilled passer, a great finisher, and a good rebounder who can move into the fastbreak. Upon joining the Thunder, his role was much of the same as he provided solid outputs in multiple facets, but he wasn’t overbearing in usage. That’s a positive trait when evaluating the team’s complete roster.
Krejci has the advantage of playing in most of the Summer League, too. Across his stints in Salt Lake City and Vegas, he was able to make efficient offensive contributions consistently.
He’s shown the inklings of being a solid bench piece, and at age 22, there still might be room left in his basketball growth plates.
Sell-Off Points:
While the Thunder have had room for minutes at the three for most of its rebuild, the incoming draft class severely tightens opportunities at this spot. As part of a domino effect, Ousmane Dieng will patrol the three, while players such as Aleksej Pokusevski, and Darius Bazley may be fielding minutes at the 3 and 4. Alongside this, the signings of Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams attach a good cut of wing minutes before mentioning players in Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins.
Krejci has shown the ability to slide into rotations and make a valiant impact. However, a player such as Wiggins also checks some of those boxes, doing so in the same positions. A regular place in the rotation is no guarantee for Krejci if he makes the 15-man roster. The silver lining to this is that Dieng and himself may be moving between the Thunder and Blue, giving them move reps all-around. However, it’s unlikely he’d absorb minutes in the Thunder’s day-one rotation.
