OKC Thunder draft prospect profile: Tyrese Haliburton

Pro Comparison:

Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer cites our very own Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a key comparison. Aside from the OKC Thunder guard KOC also lists Sam Cassell as a potential doppelganger. Other analysts have suggested Haliburton resembles Lonzo Ball or Dante Exum.

Dive into the four suggestions and the common denominator is the passing ability and length. The issue with that list is only SGA is considered a star. While Cassell was a key contributor who played on title teams, he was more of a backup point guard. As for Lonzo Ball and Dante Exum neither has ascended to star status and both are arguably better suited in backup roles as well.

OKC Thunder fit:

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Haliburton made a big leap this past season when he took on more responsibility as the primary scorer and playmaker. Having said that he doesn’t seem to have the same high ceiling as SGA. Rather, he’s more of a well-rounded prospect who could become an integral core contributor.

His passing is elite and if he continues to score with the same efficiency in the NBA as he did in College he could be a quality add to any team. The issue will be his growth at expanding his offensive toolbox and in particular when working in isolation.

He’s definitely a likable youngster as his zoom media session showed and his personality sure seems like it would meld well with the current youthful Thunder players.

The other main question is could pairing someone so similar to SGA be something Sam Presti would invest in?

I’m not opposed to the idea, however, there remains another guard on the board I’d rather see Presti go for if having two lengthy guards was his ultimate desire.