Thunder reserve big man Jaylin Williams has suffered a right hamstring strain and will be out for the team’s preseason games, the team announced this week.
To be clear, this is Jaylin Williams (J-Will to his teammates), who is a backup big man behind Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein; it is not wing Jalen Williams (J-Dub), the potential All-Star for the Thunder this season.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault talked about how vocal a leader Williams is on defense, via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.
“Those guys are really, really verbal players,” Daigneault said. “Defensively especially, that position has to be the most vocal on the court. (Williams) is a very bold communicator in his coverages.”
There is no timeline for Williams’ return, he will be re-evaluated after the preseason. Oklahoma City has the depth to cover this loss, but it takes some floor-spacing options off the table for Daigneault until Williams returns. It’s still not clear if Daigneault plans to start Holmgren and Hartenstein next to each other for the Thunder, but Williams’ absence is felt a little more with that lineup.