OKC Thunder draft prospect profile: Isaiah Stewart

Washington forward Isaiah Stewart recently interviewed with the OKC Thunder and could be the prospect the team selects with the 28th pick.

Draft day has arrived and with it, T.I.’s 30th prospect profile completes our series. The final entry is of Washington Huskies forward Isaiah Stewart. Although the OKC Thunder are rumored to have extended a draft promise to Aleksej Pokusevski the franchise garnered another draft pick this week.

The deal that will send Dennis Schroder to the Lakers and Danny Green back to the Thunder is also rumored to include LA’s 28th pick.  While the Chris Paul trade was completed the Schroder trade won’t be finalized until after the draft.

That means when Adam Silver announces the 28th pick he’ll cite “the Lakers” but the pick will be for the Thunder.

Stewart could potentially be that player so let’s take a look at his profile.

Isaiah Stewart draft prospect preview:

Specifics:

• Height: 6’9″
• Weight: 250 pounds
• Wingspan: 7’4”
• Position: Forward
• Birthdate/Age: May 22, 2001 – 19. 5 years
• College: Washington, freshman
• Stat line: 17.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 blocks
• Home Town: Rochester, New York

Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 11/16/2020.

Current Ranking:

Although many analysts have pushed Stewart into the second round there is an equal number who believe he should be taken in the first round. Of the latter group, most believe he’ll come off the board when the OKC Thunder selects with the 25 or 28th pick.

• The Ringer: 30th
• NBA DraftNet: 41st
• ESPN: 27th
• CBS Sports: 26th
• NBA: 37th
• Sports Illustrated: 25th

Strengths:

• If there was a hustle category Stewart arguably wins that prize in this class
• Defensive intensity and prowess
• OG Style offense emphasizing a wide variety of paint scoring tools
•  Strong free throw shooter for a big (77.0 percent)  –  leading to the belief in the right player development program he could add shooting to his arsenal.

Weaknesses:

• Although the playoffs proved interior scoring and big men are still vital to this era – the reality is bigs who can spread the floor are more appealing
• Needs to spend ample time working on improving his ball-handling. Passing and dribbling drills focused on accelerating his growth in his area will be essential.
• Ditto for work on his shooting fundamentals

Pro Comparison:

Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer lists Derrick Favors, Domantas Sabonis minus passing, Michael Cage as possible NBA comparisons.

OKC Thunder fit:

Stewart’s skill set isn’t what teams pine for in this current era. That said, Steven Adams has made a very good living by doing all things that don’t show up on a stat sheet but make the team better overall.

I bring up Adams as there is the potential for the Big Kiwi to be among the vets Presti moves as he reshapes the franchise for the future.  The beloved Thunder big man could become even more appealing as the traded deadline nears. Teams looking to shore up their frontcourt depth for the stretch run and playoffs will view his expiring contract as a positive.

If Presti does jettison the beloved Big Man then Stewart would offer a decent replacement option in the interim and could blossom into the future big for the club.

Particularly considering ith the similar assets Stewart offers such as his rebounding, screen setting, and commitment to team first.

For perspective, in Adams’ freshman season with Pitt, he scored 7.2 points, grabbed 6.3 boards (2.8 offensive), and blocked 2.0 shots.

We’ll see what Sam Presti does tonight, but the OKC Thunder would be well served if they target Isaiah Stewart.