Former Rutgers star Caleb McConnell did not have his named called during Thursday night's NBA Draft. However, just mere hours after the draft concluded, McConnell signed an Exhibit-10 contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Exhibit-10 contract is a one-year, minimum-salary NBA deal which allows the organization to convert it to a two-way contract prior to the season.
McConnell began his NBA Draft preparation by averaging 12.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, three assists, and one steal per game in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. McConnell was one of 64 players invited to participate in the April event. Following that, McConnell competed at the G League Elite Camp in May and impressed scouts with his defense.
As a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year Award winner, nobody questions McConnell's ability on the defensive end. He finished his collegiate career as Rutgers all-time leader in steals.
Where the question marks come is offensively. At Rutgers, McConnell averaged just 9.1 points in 31.7 minutes per game last season.
Can McConnell Follow Harper's Footsteps to NBA?
Last year, Ron Harper Jr. signed a two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors. He starred in 29 games with the 905 Raptors of the G League, and appeared in nine NBA games. The difference is, Harper was known to be a scorer and could consistently put the ball in the hoop.
McConnell will likely play on the Oklahoma City Thunder summer league team and once again attempt to prove doubters wrong, and show the league he can be a consistent offensive contributor.
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