Grading the Oklahoma City Thunder season: The starting five

Lu Dort is a defensive star but heads into an interesting offseason with the Oklahoma City Thunder

We got to see masked Lu Dort this season! That made all the losses worth it! If you needed a top-five list of masked NBA players and who looked the coolest, the Thunder would have two representatives. (Should we compile a top-five masked NBA players list?)

Dort logged 51-games for the Thunder in 2021-22, averaging 17-points, four rebounds, and an assist, while shooting 40-percent from the floor and 33-percent from deep which is down from last season’s career-high (34-percent).

Lu Dort continued to be a star on the defensive end of the floor, winnings games for the Thunder by shutting down other team’s stars at times, a trait that would be more appreciated on a playoff team.

The issue with Dort’s season comes on the offensive end. He has a decrease in shooting percentage from the corner three, non-corner three, over all three, and long midrange. in the short mid-range he took a massive leap up to 45-percent (inside the free-throw line but not at the rim), and at the rim, he did improve by four percentage points but tied his career-high of 55-percent.

Lu Dort needs to take a massive leap at the rim to become a polished scorer and adding a few percentage points to his trey ball would increase his value a ton.

Speaking of his value, Lu Dort has played on one of the best bargain contracts in sports since entering the league on a two-way contract as an undrafted free agent. This summer, he is eligible for a contract extension as he is set to be owed 1.9-million dollars on a club option for the 2022-23 NBA season. At still just 23-years-old it is obvious he has value, but Sam Presti’s end of the season press conference did not offer much confidence that a deal will get done this summer. He left the door open to the idea that the team might wait to extend Dort.

while it is unlikely Dort gets traded if for some reason the team does not extend him the summer and he is set to test unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2023 after the league agrees to a new CBA, could a trade be on the table? Lu Dort is a fan favorite for good reason and the caliber of player you need in the postseason so I would not place a bet on a trade going down this summer, however, I will say, prepare yourself for any outcome.

Grade: B, still needs improvement but still a good season