Svi Mykhailiuk: ‘Happy to be here’ after trade to Thunder
Svi Mykhailiuk made his Oklahoma City Thunder debut on Thursday. He was scoreless in 16 minutes and only attempted two shots after head coach Mark Daigneault said he would have somewhat of a limited role in his first game with the team.
There’s been some adjustment for Mykhailiuk, who was traded along with a 2027 second-round draft pick from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Hamidou Diallo.
“I feel like it’s kind of harder to fit in in the middle of the season than the beginning of a season, but me coming up here, trying to fit in as much as I can,” he said on Tuesday, two days before his debut.
“Do whatever Coach asks me to do — stretch the floor, be me, play hard, a lot of effort. Play hard on defense and make the right play on offense.”
With that said, Mykhailiuk has had a good first impression of Oklahoma City.
“It was unexpected, but now we’re here. Really happy to be here, really excited to be here and be part of the Thunder,” he said. “Really good people, really good organization. Love it here so far.”
Head coach Mark Daigneault said he had also had a good first impression of Mykhailiuk. Despite the scoreless night, the forward did well to fit in, the coach said.
“I was really impressed with how he went out there and just tried to fit into what we were doing,” Daigneault said. “It’s always interesting to watch a guy that’s new to a group, and I really respect the way he went about it. If anything, we could have him be a little more aggressive.”
With only half a season left on Mykhailiuk’s contract before he hits restricted free agency, the Thunder’s evaluation will focus on if his fit on the team.
Improving his 3-point shooting, playing good defense and showing smart ball movement is important for Mykhailiuk over the remaining 31 games of the season.
“When we get a new player, we want to understand who the guys is and what his game is, but also not place too much judgement based on his previous experiences, because those environments are different, his teams were different,” Daigneault said.
Oklahoma City’s next game is Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Houston Rockets.
This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!
