Does OKC Thunder Rookie Vasilije Micic Deserve More Minutes?

When Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder signed Vasilije Micic over the summer, fans were ecstatic.

After winning the EuroLeague MVP and two EuroLeague Finals MVPs, Micic came to the NBA with an impressive resumé that helped him earn a three-year contract worth $23.5 million. 

Observers of the team thought that Micic would easily carve out a role as one of OKC's main bench players, especially with how much his ball handling and passing skills could help keep the second unit afloat on offense.

Through six games this season, however, Micic has only made three appearances, playing an average of 10.7 minutes per game. 

After earning 14 minutes in Oklahoma City's blowout loss to Denver, Micic did not play in the Thunder's next two contests. With star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of the lineup on Friday, Micic earned 12 minutes off the bench.

The Serbian guard performed well while he was on the court against the Warriors, tallying five points, three assists and one rebound. At one point Micic even managed to poke the ball away from a Golden State player while the OKC rookie was on defense.

With Gilgeous-Alexander presumably out again on Monday night against the Hawks, Micic will likely get another opportunity to make an impact off of the bench. In his stint against the Warriors, Micic's ability to move the ball helped the Thunder's offense get back into rhythm by driving into the paint and dishing the ball out to another OKC player who was cutting hard to the basket.

At one point, Micic even managed to whip.a slick no-look pass to Aaron Wiggins, who cut from the 3-point line into the paint after his defender went to go play help defense on the decorated EuroLeague star.