When discussing the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jaylin Williams isn't the first player to come to mind. Heck, he isn't even the first Jalen Williams to come to mind.

Yet, the 6'10 big man, spelled "Jaylin", spend a rookie year providing the Thunder with a thorough outline of how to best be used, and that long-term projection is encouraging.

Williams, playing primarily center, plays an alternative brand of basketball. While not much of a shot-blocker, some of that is by design. Williams drew a whopping 48 charges last season, in just 914 total minutes, while canning 40.7% of his three-point attempts.

Further making him a bit untraditional is his passing chops. While NBA centers have become better passers over the years, playmaking big men aren't a dime a dozen. Williams, for his part, reads the floor well and will even occasionally be too unselfish as he's looking for superior scoring options.

(On several occasions last season did Williams not even look at the basket, during his search for dribble hand-offs. Logically, it's fair to assume the Thunder have asked him to become more assertive on that end, as he enters Year 2.)

Overall, Williams netted 5.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in just 18.7 minutes per game.

That level of discipline, especially for a player who played his entire rookie season at just 20 years old, bodes well for a Thunder team that's trying to level up.

Of course, Chet Holmgren is ready this season, after missing all of last year. Whether that means less minutes for Williams remains to be seen, but it likely means less minutes specifically at center.

The power forward and center positions are mostly interchangeable, so if Williams were to find himself playing the four, his floor spacing capabilities should work as a benefit to him. The usual argument against playing two big men is that of shooting, and how it takes a shooter off the floor. In the case of Holmgren and Williams, the Thunder can easily get away with such a pairing, at least offensively, due to both having the ability to hit the three.

However, Holmgren isn't the only competition.

The other Williams - Jalen - was a prized rookie last season, and one who embraced positional fluidity. He, too, can play the four, and will probably spend his second season casting a wide net over the areas where he plays. But due to a significant roster crunch, where both newcomers Cason Wallace and Vasilije Micić will get a ton of minutes at the guard spots alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey, Jalen is likely to play primarily in the front court, challenging the availability of minutes for Jaylin.

During an 82-game campaign, however, it would seem likely that head coach Mark Daigneault and his staff tinkers with the rotation to get more players involved. After all, the Thunder are trying to identify who to keep around long-term. With so many young players already on the roster, and a plethora of incoming draft picks, managing roster spots will become a yearly headache for this franchise.

Whether Williams - Jaylin, that is - makes the cut at the end of his rookie season is another conversation saved for a few years down the road. But if his raw skill set is any indication, he's at the very least worth serious consideration as a long-term mainstay.

And should he eventually find himself elsewhere, there's a good chance he'll carve out a long NBA career for himself, either as a starter or firm rotation piece. He's too versatile not to.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.