The Oklahoma City Thunder could go in several angles to fill needs in this NBA Draft. Do they want another ball handler? A 3-and-D player? A center to take the reins once Steven Adams’ contract expires?
Maybe a guy who looks like he has the skill to fill several of those roles.
In CBS Sports’ recent mock draft, Kyle Boone projected the Thunder to select Aleksej Pokusevski, a 7-foot center out of Serbia.
Pokusevski basically needs to improve every area of his game before he’s ready for the NBA, but with proper development, he could be a unicorn.
Boone wrote:
“Aleksej Pokuševski is one of this draft’s biggest boom-or-bust talents because of the way he can move, score, dribble and create at his size. If he busts it’s a late-first wasted, but if he booms he can develop into a franchise-caliber center. It’s going to take a significant investment before he can reach that level but it’s not an impossibility.”
Playing for Olympiacos B last season, Pokusevski averaged about 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes per game while shooting 32% from 3.
If you like per-36 numbers, that’s about 17 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists. If you like PER, his was 25.09, which — and this is not a very good comparison because of the difference skill level of Olympiacos B and the NBA — would have been a smidge higher than Hassan Whiteside, who finished with the 11th-best PER in the league.
Boone said that a scout told him Pokusevski’s “skill, the ability and the size he provides projects to him becoming in time a potentially significant contributor down the road.”
With that said, Pokusevski is not ready. He needs to add weight and muscle while improving his shooting. As referenced, there is a wide gap in skill level between these two leagues.
But there’s excitement over his potential, and Oklahoma City has a strong development team and an unbelievable number of draft picks in the near future. If the No. 25 pick is a bust, that’s not really a setback.
“Oklahoma City has a treasure trove of draft assets because of the Paul George trade, so why not take a big swing?”
