Darius Bazley Worked Out of Rotation in Recent Road Trip
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Darius Bazley may have lost his standing in the future plans of Oklahoma City.
Aleksej Pokusevski battled and defeated Bazley for a spot in the Thunder’s starting lineup. With Bazley again relegated to the packed OKC bench his role continues to lose ground over time.
Bazley, while healthy, has not played in OKC’s past two games. His last appearance came against the Timberwolves on Dec. 3. when he scored five points in 15 minutes shooting 2-for-4 from the field.
On Nov. 26, Bazley posted a season high 17 points against the Bulls. Since then Bazley has played in four games, not surpassing 15 minutes in any game.
He’s also not surpassed five points in any of the four games.
Overall this season Bazley is averaging 5.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and an assist per game. He’s also seeing a career low 15.6 minutes per game.
Bazley is in the midst of his fourth NBA season with OKC, but his time in OKC may be coming to the end. With Pokusevski taking a large swath of minutes, and Ousmane Dieng being the main player off the bench in their position group when he’s not with the G League OKC Blue.
Bazley’s main stat lines are lower than even his rookie season, which was the last time he scored in the single digits per game.
The Thunder have the pieces to make trades for players who could also be in the market for a change of scenery. The Thunder have previously been reported to have been in the market for Cam Reddish who is in a similar situation with the Knicks.
Bazley has shown glimpses of potential during his stint in OKC, but other teammates seem to have passed him by in terms of progression and efficiency.
Bazley’s role went from starter to bench and now to almost nonexistent, only time will tell what his future sees especially in OKC.
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