One of the newest members of the Oklahoma City Thunder should get some court time on Thursday.
Head coach Mark Daigneault said before the game that Svi Mykhailiuk will play against the Atlanta Hawks for what will be his first appearance in a Thunder uniform.
Mykhailiuk was officially acquired from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Hamidou Diallo on Saturday.
The Thunder have had two games since the trade went through. Mykhailiuk was not with the team on Sunday and was a DNP on Tuesday. Daigneault said it felt “a little aggressive” to play the wing that close to the trade.
“You just want to make sure that there’s enough familiarity with what we’re doing that we’re not putting him in a position to fail,” Daigneualt said. “We’ve had a shootaround, a game and a practice, and we’ll throw him out there tonight and see how he looks.”
With that time to get accustomed to the Thunder’s scheme, Mykhailiuk can take the court.
Daigneault noted that it will likely be in a limited role.
Oklahoma City hopes Mykhailiuk can play how he did last season, when he shot 40.4% from 3. This year, he has shot just 33.3% from behind the arc and his scoring average has decreased from 9.0 to 6.9 points per game.
The Thunder and Hawks are scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m.
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This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!
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