Tuesday marked the first day of training camp for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As camp starts, battles for roster spots have officially begun. The Thunder currently roster 21 players — 18 standard players and three two-way slots — which means they’ll need to trim that number down by three.
Buy Thunder TicketsIt seemingly looks like one of those three cuts has already been made as Sam Presti confirmed Victor Oladipo won’t attend camp and will make a decision on his expiring $9.5 million salary soon.
Following Tuesday’s camp, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Joe spoke with the media. Let’s highlight what they each had to say as training camp begins across the league.
Mark Daigneault said Chet Holmgren is fully recovered from his foot injury and has looked good in training camp today
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 3, 2023
Mark Daigneault on today’s camp: “Really tight practice… The guys were really really sharp.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 3, 2023
Mark Daigneault on offseason improvements:
“Guys had a great summer. 6 months is a long time for young players and our guys hit it pretty good. I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 3, 2023
Mark Daigneault was asked about Sam Presti’s comments last week of them adjusting to Chet instead of the other way around
I thought he gave a great answer and highlighted OKC’s roster building mindset: pic.twitter.com/aiAC081qlR
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 3, 2023
Asked Mark Daigneault what is the main they want to get out of the week and if he noticed how different the guys looked on the floor. Here’s what he said: pic.twitter.com/dTQrDRVClp
— The Daniel Bell© (@BasketballGuruD) October 3, 2023
Mark Daigneault on if OKC has to limit Chet Holmgren because of last year’s injury:
“No. He’s fully recovered..”
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) October 3, 2023
What does SGA & Chet look like on the court together?
Chet: “Exciting.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 3, 2023
Chet Holmgren was asked which new OKC player stuck out.
He named all of them.
“Cason's defense is amazing. Vasa is a great facilitator. Kayontae gets his athleticism in the game. Bertans is one of them dudes who can really, really shoot the ball. Jack White, tough nosed dude.” pic.twitter.com/yHP6O2eFLT
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) October 3, 2023
Chet Holmgren talks about the advantages of having a lot of returners to this team and his first day of camp pic.twitter.com/GD7oJpj8XO
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) October 3, 2023
Isaiah Joe said he’s looking forward to the post-practice 3-point competitions: “We got an arsenal now. With (Bertans), Tre, Lindy. It’s gonna be a good one. Definitely a ton of competition going on for sure.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 3, 2023
Isaiah Joe on today’s camp: “Nobody shied away from the challenge of being new. Everybody stepped up to the plate. Nobody out there actually seemed like this was their first training camp.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 3, 2023
