In the Thunder's first pre-season game against the Timberwolves, coach Billy Donovan played Steve Novak for 11 minutes. About 9 of those 11 minutes were spent on the floor with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. This is very interesting, as any lineup with Durant and Westbrook on the floor would be expected to get regular minutes.
Novak came to Oklahoma City last year in the Kanter-Perkins deal, but hardly saw any minutes for the Thunder. Indeed, the last time Novak could truly call himself a regular contributor to an NBA squad was 2013.