How Dereck Lively Fits with the OKC Thunder
With the Oklahoma City Thunder entering the offseason, it’s officially time to time to switch gears to prospect evaluation mode.
And this year’s impending draft has plenty of players that can help bolster the OKC core.
No matter how unlikely it is Oklahoma City lands certain prospects, the Thunder Fit series will take a look at how they would fit with the current team’s configuration. And with a war chest of assets, you never know how far the front office could move up to acquire a player.
The next prospect up in the series is Duke center Dereck Lively.
Here’s how Lively could fit alongside the rest of the Thunder core:
Offense
One of the highest-rated prospects coming into the season, Lively failed to live up to the hype as a freshman at Duke, but still offers plenty of intriguing talent packed inside a 7-foot-1 frame.
Offensively, he averaged just 5.1 points per game on 66 percent shooting in just over 20 minutes per game, getting nearly all of that with his rim-running and post game.
He was lauded as a potential floor-stretcher coming out of high school, but hit on just 15 percent of his attempts at the next level.
With the Thunder, he would at least be another massive presence that would force the opposition to size up, and make a strong lob-threat for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and more. And with renowned shooting coach Chip Engelland signed on, his shooting could become viable down the road.
Defense
Defensively is where Lively is going to make most of his impact. He averaged 2.4 blocks per game, and is on the same plane as OKC center Chet Holmgren when it comes to blocking shots.
He also functions decently well in drop coverage, making him a real hassle for the other team when he’s on court.
His fit next to Holmgren could be a murky one. While having two shot-blocking 7-footers doesn’t sound bad in theory, stretching one of them out full-time beyond the perimeter could be an issue.
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