The Oklahoma City Thunder's summer league circuit is over.

A 2-1 mark in Salt Lake City was followed by an underwhelming 1-4 record in Las Vegas. But wins and losses are far from important this time of year.

Here are five things we learned about the Thunder this summer:

More: How did each OKC Thunder player grade out in 2024 NBA Las Vegas Summer League?

Ajay Mitchell should leave mark in G League

There’s a multitude of reasons Sam Presti involved himself in a Twister game of trades to arrive at the 38th pick in this year’s draft. Above all, Ajay Mitchell’s flashes during Summer League should be enough reason.

Mitchell, who’ll occupy one of the Thunder’s two-way contracts, finished his UC Santa Barbara career as a scoring guard. A master at changing speeds, shifting his weight, crafting ways to score, he offered a little more once Oklahoma City tipped off summer play in Salt Lake City.

Within a couple games, Mitchell had already tallied his first double-double, an 11-point, 10-assist performance that saw his teammates leave a few dimes on the table.

His rim runs were strolls, his driving lanes appeared as sidewalks. Mitchell commanded paint touches when he pleased. There wasn’t a pass he couldn’t wrap around a defender or teleport right into a nearby big man’s hands.

With his floater and dump down passes flowing so effortlessly against NBA youth and G League talent, Mitchell appeared primed to initiate offense for the Oklahoma City Blue come the winter. Even when his comfortability was threatened in Las Vegas by more aggressive defenses, Mitchell found ways to impact the game.

Dillon Jones' understanding of future role

Dillon Jones might only need to do a fraction of the things that were asked of him this summer. He knows that.

In SLC and Vegas, Jones shouldered the load of a roster that mostly resembled OKC’s G League team. To initiate offense, to facilitate, to score, to rebound the way he’s known to, to impose his 6-foot-6, 235-pound will and run it into the ground.

Whatever comes with the Thunder, he likely won’t even be the secondary ball handler in his lineups. He’ll likely make quick decisions when a drive-and-kick finds him and rebound beyond his position. Things that’ll feel microscopic relative to his Summer League role, though all the more difficult in how he’ll manage to excel in a boxed-in role.

And Jones showed flashes and flaws alike. There’s a fire inside him. Flames that spew when provoked by competition (or clapping). He hates losing; the Thunder lost a good bit. His turnovers were a thorn in his side, and his reads sometimes felt too advanced for others. His weight, while impressive in how gracefully he could shift it, didn’t always get him where he wanted.

But Jones is a delightful talker. About his past, about the game, about his mistakes and success. And one thing became clear after questioning Jones: He knows he’ll slip into a role with the actual Thunder, and his idea of what he’ll need to do in it came with his summer reps.

More: What's next for the OKC Thunder? Player report cards, key offseason dates

OKC Summer League teams won’t produce fireworks for foreseeable future

For the first time in a while, the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas wasn’t flooded by those curious about the Thunder. For a week, it wasn’t occupied by anyone trying to see the Thunder at all.

For its first three games, OKC was tucked away inside the neighboring, much more intimate Cox Pavilion gym. With fans much closer to the court, with rows of tight bleachers instead of arena seats, with parents of players and designated spaces for coaches and scouts. An atmosphere that reeked of the Nike EYBL Peach Jam.

The little brother of Vegas Summer League events.

If the reasoning for the Thunder’s being there wasn’t obvious before the week started, it became glaring later. Summer League, a dicey measure of growth and display, is reserved for names. Houston’s Reed Sheppard was among the headliners in the main gym. Lakers rookie Bronny James was seemingly forbidden from playing anywhere but T&M.

The Thunder’s top overall pick, Nikola Topic, was unavailable after undergoing recent surgery. Its other first-round pick, Jones, played just a couple games and was virtually unknown to NBA fans prior to Presti trading for him. Ousmane Dieng, the most experienced player on the team, didn’t play in Vegas at all. The Thunder won just one of its four Vegas Summer League games.

None of it should be very surprising. The Thunder, a 57-win contender that improved in the summer, has its sights reasonably set elsewhere. The days of refreshing Tankathon are mostly gone, save for the sneaky picks Presti has stashed that fans will pay attention to.

The Thunder didn’t have a Chet Holmgren to toss out for box office basketball this summer. Or a Jalen Williams. Only the fruits of its labor, surely a sweet taste for those enjoying OKC’s rise.

Ousmane Dieng’s underwhelming stint

Dieng’s abrupt ending to his summer, an intentional decision by Thunder brass, wasn’t surprising. It didn’t make it any less disappointing for Thunder fans holding out hope on Dieng.

The third-year forward, who in theory could play crucial minutes for the actual Thunder, was sidelined for the team’s Vegas stint, still seen on the bench and working out with the team. Dieng, the youngest yet most experienced player on the summer squad, was ruled out after a few games in SLC, fairly routine for a player of his status.

But his SLC flashes hardly left fans content with the decision.

After a relatively quiet first game in a setting many felt he should’ve dominated, Dieng increasingly attacked the rim and tried to embrace on-ball duties. Against the Jazz he shot 3s and tried (but didn’t succeed) to poster defenders. But the success of Dieng’s drives and touch never aligned with the increased volume.

After three games, the reigning G League MVP shot 34.6% from the field and had 10 turnovers.

Summer League is hardly the league’s litmus test of choice, though considering Dieng’s status against similar competition throughout the season, it seemed as though Dieng’s summer stint might’ve appeared more dominant.

Dieng’s time isn’t out. But his window, with the Thunder’s rotation lining up alongside the most talented in the league, is creeping toward a close. His summer play hardly did enough to pry it wide.

Thunder chemistry still brewing

The barking is being put on pause. The synergy it represents throughout the Thunder season apparently isn’t.

Save for Alex Caruso, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort, who are involved in the Olympics, the Thunder’s entire rotation showed face at the team’s Summer League games.

Williams was present for much of the first week for OKC and his younger brother, Cody. Isaiah Hartenstein shared his earliest spaces with Chet Holmgren. Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, now bearers of big money, were reunited. Cason Wallace sat in with his family.

Leave it to one of the NBA’s youngest teams to pull up to Summer League looking like an actual AAU team. Courtside together, in bunches, kicking their feet up and laughing as if waiting for the court to come available.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What we learned about OKC Thunder in 2024 NBA Summer League play