Mitch

McGary

This is a huge summer league for McGary as he tries to prove his worth to the franchise. McGary looked solid today, shooting 6-of-10 from the field in 26 minutes. After playing a total of 72 minutes last season, playing time won’t be any easier to find as he enters his third season in the NBA, as the Thunder acquired Domantas Sabonis with the 11th pick in the draft and acquired Ersan Ilyasova in a trade with the Magic.

McGary was recently suspended for five games due to a violation of the NBA’s drug policy, and it’s especially concerning given he was suspended for testing positive for marijuana while in college at Michigan. Although McGary has a potential path to minutes with Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka on different teams, he may once again find himself outside of the Thunder’s rotation.

Not good. While at Michigan, McGary was suspended for testing positive for marijuana. He’s played very well in Orlando this week and he would have a chance for minutes with Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant gone.

Young speculates that the trade which brought in Joffrey Lauvergne will likely result in OKC aggressively trying to move frontcourt players like Ersan Ilyasova and McGary to give the team some improved depth at the small forward position. To be clear, nothing is imminent at the moment, and a change in uniform is unlikely to alter the non-existent fantasy values of both McGary and Ilyasova.

“If I want to prove the player that I am and that I have the potential to be, that I know I can play at this level and be an elite player with some of the guys up there, this is a big time for me to prove myself,” McGary said. The big man played a total of 72 minutes in the 2015-16 campaign and his future with the Thunder could be in jeopardy if he doesn’t show some improvement this summer.

He violated the NBA’s anti-drug policy for the second time and will now have to enter a drug program and pay the fine. McGary was already considered to be on the roster bubble in OKC, so don’t be surprised if the Thunder part ways with the forward.

McGary was originally schedule to serve a five-game suspension for a violation in July and will now have 10 games added to that suspension, according to league sources. The violation isn’t believed to be another positive test, McGary reportedly failed to live up to the guidelines of the program. The 24-year-old was expected to open the season in the D-League, so this news won’t affect his non-existent fantasy value.

He’s not going to get any minutes in the first 15 games due to a suspension. McGary admitted he messed up and said he just wants to play basketball again. He’s not a lock to make the team.

McGary is suspended for a total of 15 games, but he got an additional 10 on top of the five that had already been in place for some time. “I’m in the drug program for failing the drug test and to be compliant, you have to take a certain amount of tests, and I did not do that,” McGary said. “I would love to stay here and play here with new guys coming in; it would be very tough for me to get minutes here,” McGary said. The big man would have been buried even without the suspensions, and now his time off could result in his release from the roster. “I don’t want to let this define me as a player,” McGary added. If that’s the case, he needs to make some real changes immediately and commit to being a professional.

McGary is entirely irrelevant in all fantasy leagues, regardless of his health.