OKC Thunder: Scottie Barnes says pairing with Dort would be great for organization

The NBA Draft is less than a week away, finally, OKC Thunder fans will get the pay-off of sitting through a 22-50 record. One of their main targets, Florida State Product Scottie Barnes, took the zoom podium on Friday to meet with the NBA Media.

Scottie Barnes says pairing him with Lu Dort would be “great” for the OKC Thunder organization

The FSU who can simply do-it-all positionally ranging anywhere from a point guard to a small-ball five met with the media on Friday afternoon and of course was asked about the OKC Thunder, who have made it fairly known they are targeting him.

While questions surround Barnes and his shooting ability, or lack thereof, and how he impacts the game off-ball on the offensive end, one thing he is not concerned about is his possible fit with OKC Thunder defensive ace Lu Dort.

Just days away from being a sure-fire top-six pick, Barnes’ confidence is of course at an all-time high. It is not surprising to hear the swiss-army knife boldly proclaim this pairing would be great for the OKC Thunder organization. The question is, is he right?

While Thunder fans have talked themselves into Barnes since the disappointing Lottery night a year ago, and he now flys up draft boards, I still have my doubts.

His shooting is a huge concern, he mainly thrived in transition last year offensively. If his best skill is playmaking and being an on-ball player, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is rightfully adamant about being the point guard, how does OKC Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault balance that?

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To the point of Barnes and Dort together, the incoming rookie is right. A team that can roll out Barnes and Dort defensively will create chaos on that end of the floor.

Frustrating NBA offenses night in and night out, and playing with more energy than most veteran lead teams. That automatically makes the duo a fan favorite in Bricktown.

Offensively, a presumed lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Aleksej Pokusevski, Scottie Barnes, and *insert center here one OKC adds one*, would be a bit clunky offensively, to say the least.

While it is not impossible for Scottie Barnes to progress his shooting, as Lu Dort has, it is a hard thing to bank on. Especially when you factor in Barnes’ 62-percent from the three-point line. The saving grace? The 19-year-old, who will be 20 when the season starts, has stressed the importance of adding a jump shot to his game.