Why Tre Mann is an Underrated Piece of Oklahoma City's Future

Oklahoma City has a treasure chest of prospects and picks over the next few seasons.

Sam Presti lucked out with two lottery picks, No. 2 and No. 12, where he can add more premium talent to the young roster later this week.

He will work to build around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey, both slotted in as cornerstones of the future in Oklahoma City. Alongside the talented guards, Lu Dort has blossomed into one of the NBA’s premier young 3-and-D players.

With the Thunder’s climb back to relevancy on the horizon. Though, many of Oklahoma City’s young prospects have been included in trade rumors this off-season. OKC could look to move up from No. 12 or acquire additional first round picks for current talent on the roster. One Thunder player that seemingly hasn’t been involved in trade talks is Tre Mann, who’s coming off of a very productive rookie season.

Mann seems to be the forgotten piece of the Thunder’s puzzle this off-season, as people continue to envision the direction of the team without thinking about his high ceiling.

The Florida product came on strong towards the end of the season, finishing his rookie campaign with 10.4 points per game, shooting 36% from 3-point range on 4.5 attempts per night. Mann showed off his potential with impressive scoring bursts and consistent shooting from downtown. His ability to score in bunches was jaw-dropping at times, like when he poured in 23 points in one quarter against the Celtics.

7-Tre Mann goes ballistic for 23 points in a quarter against the Celtics pic.twitter.com/FgAtJzu9bL
— Matt (@SGA4MVP) April 5, 2022

After the All-Star break, Mann gave Thunder fans even more to be excited about, averaging 15.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists down the stretch.

It’s incredibly hard for a young, high-volume shot taker to find the efficiency Mann was able to find over the course of his rookie season. His splits started to translate from his time at Florida, where has an elite shooter. His last year with the Gators, he averaged 16 points on 40.2% from 3-point range.

Trusting Mann’s development will be huge for Oklahoma City going forward. As a franchise, the Thunder have longed for an electric off-the-bench scorer that can consistently shoot from deep, and Mann seems to be more than capable of blossoming into that role.

Oklahoma City should absolutely move up in the draft if they have the chance. But Presti should do everything possible to hold onto Mann if he can.

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