OKC Thunder NBA draft profile: Chris Duarte – mature 3 & D specialist

Chris Duarte strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

Let’s face it Duarte offers up the most coveted asset a prospect can bring to the table — perimeter shooting. The Oregon guard doesn’t just park himself in a corner waiting for the ball. Rather he hunts down open spaces using screens (akin to Klay Thompson) and is adept at connecting on stepbacks or pull-ups.

In his final season with the Ducks, he shot 42.4 percent from behind the arc on 5.5 attempts per game. With his constant motion and cutting the guard opens the floor and has demonstrated an ability to score from the mid-range and can score inside in a pinch with either hand.

He’s a solid rebounder for his size and an underrated passer that in the right system could be relied on to be more of a playmaker.

The Puerto Plata native also demonstrated ability on the defensive end where he applied solid footwork and quick hands. That led to him snaring 1.9 steals per game this past season. Duarte has the ability to guard one through three.

Could step in immediately and provide serviceable minutes for a contending team. At 24 his game isn’t likely to grow substantially but with hard work and commitment, he could become a 3 and D specialist.

Weaknesses:

Clearly, the age (24) is what teams will look at with two specific questions in mind. 1) how close to his ceiling is he? and 2) how much of his success at Oregon was due to being so much older than his peers?

Although he can score inside he needs to add variety to his moves. Needs to attack the rim more which will keep defenders from only playing him to shoot 3-pointers and should generate more trips to the charity stripe.

Duarte isn’t an explosive player, primarily jumping off two feet in the paint, and doesn’t create many shots for himself.

While he was a solid defender in college in the Duck’s strong defensive schemes there is uncertainty if he’ll be able to guard bigger and faster NBA pros.