On a roster full of question marks, Darius Bazley might be the biggest.
Bazley is an enigma. He spent last season preparing for the NBA Draft while interning at New Balance.
His game is also a mystery. The 19-year-old handles the ball like a wing. But his 6-foot-9 frame could allow him to slide to power forward, making Bazley a potential matchup nightmare.
The question though isn’t what position will he play. The question is when will he be ready to play?
Bazley competed in the Las Vegas Summer League, showing flashes of why the NBA continues to draft on potential. He has the base components. Brett Dawson of The Athletic called Bazley, “fluid, athletic and smart”.
But he didn’t play in college, and hasn’t faced any real NBA competition yet.
Because the Thunder are at the beginning of a long rebuilding process, there should be no hurry by Oklahoma City to rush him along. Dawson believes that Bazley will get his shot during training camp as, “OKC makes a habit of keeping an open mind about its rookies’ potential”.
But the likely landing spot for Bazley this year is with the OKC Blue. There he’ll get the minutes he needs in order to become a contributor in the future.
