As if the pipeline between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets couldn’t get any bigger, there’s another player who’s made the transition over the past year.
Yesterday, former Thunder player Keyontae Johnson finally left the free agent market after officially signing with the Hornets. With the arrival of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein along with new draft picks, Oklahoma City has failed to find a place for the forward in their future plans.
With the No. 1-ranked Thunder in playoff contention, it was difficult for the 24-year-old to find a role on the main roster, averaging just 7.3 minutes per game. With G-League affiliate OKC Blue, however, he averaged 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 53 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc.
Charlotte and Oklahoma City have crossed paths several times over the past year, thanks to the trade of Gordon Hayward to the Thunder. That trade brought four former players to the Hornets: Aleksej Pokusevski, Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic and Davis Bertans.
Only Mann and Micic will remain in Charlotte next season, but the addition of Johnson increases the total number of backups. It’s unclear whether he’ll spend time in the G League first or not, but he’ll certainly have a better chance of playing on the main roster of a rebuilding Hornets team alongside some familiar faces.
Both Mann and Micic saw an improvement in their output over the second half of last season, each given a larger role in the rotation and a heavier offensive workload. Mann went from 3.8 points in nine minutes per game to 11.9 points in 31 minutes, while Micic increased his 3.3 points in 12 minutes per game to 10.8 points in 27.2 minutes.
While it didn’t work out for Johnson in Oklahoma City, he found another opportunity that could allow him to showcase his talent in a bigger role. With Charlotte likely out of the playoff race, developing young talent will be his biggest task, so he shouldn’t have as much trouble seeing the court.
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