The OKC Thunder selected Darius Bazley in the NBA Draft on Thursday night. It’s time to get to know the newest member of the OKC Thunder.
The OKC Thunder decided to take a chance on Thursday Night, and go an unconventional route in drafting a New Balance Intern with a top 30 pick in the NBA Draft, the 23rd pick to be exact.
Darius Bazley is one of the most interesting prospects in the NBA Draft, simply because the unknown by nature is interesting.
Bazley was one of the most exciting young prospects in the High School basketball circuit. Yet, he did not elect to play college basketball despite the number of blue blood schools who longed for his (free) services. In a stacked 2018 recruiting class at his position, Bazley stood up as the fifth-ranked small forward in his class, 11th nationally.
Bazley found himself behind RJ Barrett, Nassir Little, Zion Williamson, and Keldon Johnson at the small forward position according to Rivals.com for the 2018 class.
Bazley committed to Syracuse University, before being persuaded to go to New Balance as an “intern” to learn about the business side of sports, and train on his own. He also elected to not participate in the NBA G-League out of high school.
One thing is for sure, Darius Bazley’s mindset and swagger will fit right in with the OKC Thunder.
For a five star recruit who was selected to play in the McDonald’s All American Game elect to forgo college, and also not sign overseas but instead bet on himself and learn the business side of the game while training alone, is something special.
Darius Bazley is apart of the Klutch Sports family, so you would think at least LeBron James sees his skill set. You might remember LeBron James grabbing headlines with a slight back and forth he had with the Syracuse coach following Bazley’s decision.
https://twitter.com/MickstapeShow/status/1055237022888218626
Here is a photo of Bazley hanging with elite basketball company.
Bazley has a new balance deal that could spite up to 14 million dollars and has already netted himself a million while other prospects were playing in college for free (allegedly). For New Balance, this could be an awesome prospect to build around. His intern marketable story, his emotion, and electric plays are perfect to build a signature show or apparel around.
But how does he fit with the OKC Thunder who should be in win-now mode?
Sam Presti just drafted a 19-year-old, who has not played at a high level in an entire year, who can not shoot nor play defense. This is also a prospect who, despite training all year with no other focuses, needs to bulk up to make an impact in the NBA.
Billy Donovan, who will still roam the sidelines for the OKC Thunder in 2019-20, has always had a short leash for young players, and Darius Bazley’s fast, and athletic but raw skillset seems to indicate he will make his fair share of hairpulling decisions. Donovan is running out of hair, and time as the OKC Thunder head man, so it could lead to Bazley spending more time on the pine than you would like from your first round pick.
Darius Bazley is the lead candidate for the “Why isn’t Billy Donovan playing him more?!” award from outraged Thunder fans. Deonte Burton took that award home this season.
Like Burton, if Darius Bazley participates in the NBA Summer League, he will leave OKC Thunder fans in awe and ready to start roughly sixteen fan accounts on Twitter for the 19 year old, and spawn himself about six new nicknames (though I think the leader in the clubhouse has to be “the intern.”)
The OKC Blue were an interesting team last year, for the first time in a long time. This year, the team could see minutes from Burton, Diallo, and Bazley, and be the most athletic G-League team in NBA G-League history.
The OKC Thunder, in the toughest Western Conference that we have ever seen (though it seems like NBA fans and media say that every year) might not have time to allow Bazley to grow in 2019-20, so his summer and pre-season growth is incredibly important if he wants NBA minutes in year one.
Let’s examine Darius Bazley from the TI Film Room
We will get into Darius Bazley’s cutting and driving ability a little bit later, but here is just an appetizer from the NBA Draft combine.
The defense at the NBA Combine is not exactly NBA level, a lot of guys are trying to impress while also not wanting to get hurt just weeks before the biggest day of their professional lives. But in this clip, you can see Darius Bazley’s ability to finish softly around the rim and alter his shot. To me, that is his best NBA skill set, his craftiness around the rim.
While that is his best skill, he is also a very good passer for his size. On this play, he uses a pump fake to get his defender in the air and act as if he is going to drive. The threat of how good he is at finishing at the rim draws in the defense and he dumps off a pass to a wide-open teammate who’s defender came off to help on Bazley. (Note: This was a very good pass, Bazley’s teammate did not expect it, and these guys do not get time to gain chemistry at the combine before playing these game.
Again, Bazley shows off his vision and passing ability, almost at the top of his shot ready to shoot the ball, Bazley finds a cutting teammate and dumps it off to him.
At times, the knock on Darius Bazley has been his defense, but in this clip you see the potential due to his size and versatility, Bazley blocks a shot at the rim and it goes perfectly to a teammate setting up a transition chance.
Again, it is important to note the pace, and effort at the combine, but this is a very good, NBA level post move at full speed.
This play is probably the most encouraging from the NBA Combine for Bazley. Darius Bazley puts the ball on the floor and get’s to the rim on his own and finishes in traffic with a soft touch. He flashes an ability to eventually be a self-creating wing that can be a great offensive weapon for the OKC Thunder down the line.
In this clip, you can get a good look at Darius Bazley’s shooting stroke as he knocks down a 3 point shot.
Can we just appreciate his pump faking and passing ability again?
And now, just enjoy these great finishes at the rim, including this first one which is almost magic.
The biggest thing that leaps off the page here is Bazley’s explosive first step towards the rim, it takes him almost no time to get a full head of steam at the rim.
This is going to be really fun to watch if he gets to play in the Summer League.
Oh, and one off the dribble three for good measure.
One thing is for sure, there will be interesting highlights from Vegas for Darius Bazley as long as he can sign a contract in time.
What is the best case scenario for Darius Bazley and the OKC Thunder?
The best case scenario for the OKC Thunder is that Darius Bazley can turn into a viable starting level player who can help Russell Westbrook carry the load on the offensive end as Westbrook ages and Paul George potentially finds a new home when his contract expires.
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Or, if Paul George re-up’s with the OKC Thunder, Bazley could turn into an elite sixth man off the Thunder bench, or even a positionless wing finding his way into the starting lineup.
What would be the worst case scenario?
The worst case scenario would be that Darius Bazley never pans out, obviously. Specifically that he never grows into his body, becomes a defensive threat at the NBA level, or an NBA shot.
This is a big swing for Sam Presti because it is so risky. The OKC Thunder could have used a win now player, like Grant Williams or Brandon Clarke in the first round of this draft. They have little avenues left to explore on improving a team that has disappointed for two straight years.
With no money to spend, and only Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder providing some value on the trade market, Presti had to hit this pick to solidify the Thunder’s window of opportunity. This is a very high risk but high reward move.
The OKC Thunder hope to have landed a steal in the NBA Draft, but one thing is for sure, they got a potential human highlight reel.