Unexpected emergence. Surprising growth. Crucial cap space. Discover the surprising benefits that unfolded for the Thunder during Jalen Williams' absence.
Jalen Williams valiantly fought through a torn ligament in his wrist during the entirety of Oklahoma City’s championship run. He eventually had offseason surgery in July to address the issue and also underwent a follow-up procedure in late October to remove a screw that was causing discomfort
Based on Williams’ projected return date and his recent posts on social media, it’s likely that he is on the verge of making his season debut. The Thunder are obviously better with Williams on the court, but his absence had a few positive consequences for the franchise.
Here are three silver linings from Williams missing the first month of the season.
Ajay Mitchell’s Emergence
With Williams’ scoring and playmaking out of the equation, the Thunder needed someone to step up and shoulder the creation burden when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took a breather.
Ajay Mitchell answered the call. The sophomore is averaging 16.7 points and 3.9 assists per game, which places him in early discussions for Sixth Man of the Year. His ability to generate shots on drives has been especially impressive.
Williams’ injury gave Mitchell the opportunity to break out, and Oklahoma City now has a new offensive weapon for this season and beyond.
Chet Holmgren’s Growth
Jalen Williams and Kenrich Williams being out stripped the Thunder’s roster of versatile forwards who could play small-ball center in a pinch. As a result, Oklahoma City has been forced to mostly play Chet Holmgren at power forward next to either Isaiah Hartenstein or Jaylin Williams.
After a month of action in this new role, Holmgren is far more comfortable at attacking mismatches, finding the correct gaps to exploit and seeing the game from a different lens.
His impact is at career-high levels, and he’s more versatile than ever. The new trend in the NBA is seemingly double-big lineups, so Williams’ injury allowed Oklahoma City to fine tune its lineups.
Salary Cap Savings
Unfortunately for Williams, his injury has implications for his wallet.
If he misses All-NBA this season, then his new contract starts at 25% of the salary cap. But if Williams makes All-NBA Third, Second or First Team, then his contract would begin at 26%, 27% or 30%, respectively.
In other words, failing to make an All-NBA team this season will cost him millions in the future.
Players must play at least 65 games to qualify for All-NBA, and Williams already has a maximum of 68 games played should he return for Oklahoma City’s next contest against New Orleans. Therefore, he can only afford to miss three games for the remainder of the season to be eligible for All-NBA.
Even if Williams qualifies, he’s at a massive disadvantage because the missed games will hurt his vote count.
Overall, his injury will likely save a decent amount of cap space for the Thunder, which is crucial because it will be fighting the second apron for years to come.