Grading the Oklahoma City Thunder season: The starting five

Darius Bazley bounced in and out of the Oklahoma City Thunder starting five leaving his future in question

With a team that has a clear objective, it is hard to spark debate within the fanbase when nearly everyone is on board with the tanking direction of the team. One of the few polarizing topics is Darius Bazley.

The former New Balance Intern turned first-round pick was always a high upside low reward swing by Sam Presti. Now at age 21, entering his first full offseason in the NBA, it is time for Bazley to produce.

In 69-games during the 2021-22 season Bazley posted 10-points, six rebounds, and one assist per game while shooting 42-percent from the floor, 29-percent from three, and 68-percent at the line. The 6’8 forward did not dramatically improve offense, but his defense took a huge leap.

Bazley turned into a very good defender during the 2021-22 campaign being able to switch and guard at all three levels of the floor including at the rim. This makes him the prototypical modern-day player with just one addition to his game. A player who can switch 1-5 without being completely overmatched is incredible value especially if he improves as a three-point shooter.

The forward added a block per game and 0.8 steals a contest to his shooting splits which featured a career-high on corner-triples 33-percent, 29-percent on non-corner threes (you know, those at the break three-pointers that made you want to pull your hair out?), and in the mid-range turned in a career-high but still lowly 38-percent. Bazley was a percentage point shy of his career-high rim percentage going for 58-percent at the cup. All things which need to be improved.

Darius Bazley started just 53 of his 69-games this season after starting each game he participated in during the 2020-21 season. Since the All-Star break, Bazley posted 14-points, five rebounds, an assist, a steal, and almost a block per game on 48-percent shooting from the floor and 30-percent from three-point land.

Like Dort, Bazley enters the final year of his current contract. Though for the New Balance intern on a first-round draft pick contract he will only be set to hit restricted free agency in 2023 giving OKC the chance to match any offer before he could join a new team.

I would be stunned if the Klutch Sports client agreed to an extension this summer, and that leads to a very weird scenario in-season for the Thunder. Sam Presti typically does not like to allow players to play out their lame-duck year in OKC, even swapping meaningless RFA contracts to avoid dismissing or losing a player for nothing (see: Hamidou Diallo for Svi Mykhailiuk swap only to promptly allow Svi Mykhailiuk to head to Toronto just as he would have allowed Diallo to walk).

That opens the door for a possible Bazley trade, though I would not like to see that as a believer (for better or worse) in Bazley’s skillset these are just the facts, and the whispers I’ve heard entering the final year of his deal. Remember that the Hamidou Diallo trade went down in March of 2021 surviving the summer is the least of Bazley’s worries in Bricktown.

At that time Diallo ripped off a 25-game stretch of averaging 12-points, two steals, five rebounds, and a steal per game on 47-percent from the floor and 30-percent from deep. A segment of games that included 23, 25, and 20-point outbursts then was promptly traded to the Pistons. He eventually scored a career-high 35 points that season in the Motor City against the Bulls.

One final factor that could lead to a parting of ways with Bazley is the 2022 NBA Draft. If the OKC Thunder earns Lottery Luck on Tuesday, the team would be selecting in the top three and all projected top-three prospects play the same position in Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr, and Paolo Banchero.

Grade: C For Bazley he has a lot to improve on, and after his first full offseason, it will be time to produce no matter where he is playing basketball for the 2022-23 season. I for one, hope it is in OKC.