Thunder Notes: Williams, Mitchell, Joe, 2007 Trade

The news that Jalen Williams suffered a left hamstring strain and will be evaluated on a weekly basis came as a blow to the Thunder‘s playoff outlook, but head coach Mark Daigneault considers the diagnosis a “relatively positive development,” Joe Mussatto writes for The Oklahoman.

Daigneault believes that the injury could’ve been much worse and said that Williams will travel with the team to Phoenix on Friday instead of staying in Oklahoma City and rehabbing.

Williams missed considerable time this season with hamstring injuries in his right leg, but he came out strong in the first two games of the first-round series against the Suns, averaging 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in just 26 minutes per game.

It remains to be seen if he’ll be available in the second round, should Oklahoma City make it that far.

We have more from the Thunder:

• With Williams out, second-year guard Ajay Mitchell will likely step into a larger role for the Thunder, Mussatto writes. Mitchell had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals in Game 2, and has proven all season that his game is mature beyond its years, especially considering he missed much of last year due to injury. “He was on track to be a rotation player for us last season in the playoffs before the injury,” Daigneault said. “He’s obviously a very talented player, but he’s also a very high-execution player.” Mussatto writes that while Mitchell is the only player outside of Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Chet Holmgren to average more than 25 minutes per game so far this series, he expects Cason Wallace to step into the starting lineup while Mitchell commands a major minutes load off the bench.
• Isaiah Joe is listed as out for Game 3 due to personal reasons, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman notes (Twitter link). Joe had a career-best year for the Thunder this season, averaging 11.1 points and hitting 42.3% of his threes, both personal bests. Through two games, he is averaging 7.5 points in 17.5 minutes per night, though he has struggled a bit with his shot, hitting just 33.3% of his 7.5 three-point attempts per game. He has yet to attempt a two-pointer or free throw in the series.
• A trade 19 years ago is still paying dividends for the Thunder’s aspirations to repeat as champions, Baxter Holmes writes for ESPN. Holmes details how a 2007 sign-and-trade of Rashard Lewis from the Supersonics to the Magic created a trade exception, which the Thunder used to add Kurt Thomas, along with two first-round picks, which eventually led to Paul George, and from there to Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and others via trade with the Clippers.