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On Saturday evening, the Oklahoma City Thunder officially saw their 2023-24 season come to an end with a 117-116 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on the road in game 6 of their Western Conference semifinals series. The Thunder actually raced out to a 17-point second half lead in this one but ultimately relinquished a massive Dallas run down the stretch, led by an ultra-aggressive Kyrie Irving and a late surge from both Derrick Jones Jr. and PJ Washington.
The Thunder are now faced with a long offseason after what was overall a very successful 2023-24 campaign, and one player who is a bit frustrated with how things panned out down the stretch is none other than small forward Gordon Hayward, who was traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the Thunder at this year's deadline and is now getting one hundred percent honest on the frustration he felt during his brief Oklahoma City stint, not so subtly blaming the coaching staff in the process.
“Disappointed with how it all worked out. Certainly frustrating. As a player, I have a lot to offer. I just wasn’t given much of an opportunity to do that,” said Hayward, per Brandon Rahbar of Daily Thunder.
Hayward went on to describe why he thought his scoring numbers were as low as they were this season for the Thunder.
“I think that’s credit to the kind of role I was placed in and the lack of touches.. I think with the minutes I was given and the role that I was in, there were some possessions where I probably could’ve been more aggressive.. Just trying to do what was best for the team.. It was what it was.. I’m still confident in the player I am,” said Hayward.
However, he did make sure to complement the organization as a whole.
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“Tremendously run organization from top to bottom. Certainly top tier,” said Hayward.
A successful season
Coming into this year, some pundits projected that the Thunder would be a playoff team after just barely missing out on the feat by losing in last year's Play-In tournament. However, few could have predicted just what a force this Oklahoma City team would become in such a short time, catapulting all the way up to the number one seed in the conference by the end of the season, led by point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished second in the MVP voting behind only Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic.
The Thunder showed no signs of their youth or immaturity in their first round sweep victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, operating without Zion Williamson, but Oklahoma City did tend to lose their poise at times in their series vs the Mavericks, particularly down the stretch of Game 6, when the young Thunder were powerless to stop a late Mavericks' surge.
Still, that shouldn't take away from what a successful season it was, and how bright the future is and Oklahoma City. Whether Gordon Hayward is a part of that future, however, is a much different question.
