NBA Draft: Chris Livingston’s Low Risk, High Upside is Attractive Value in Second Round
Now that the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded away the 37th pick to the Denver Nuggets, that leaves them with just only one second rounder in the 2023 NBA Draft: the 50th pick.
Of course the Thunder also have the 12th pick, but who might be available and what they bring to the table has already been the subject of much discourse over the past few months.
So who might be available so late in the draft and could they actually help the Thunder at some point?
Finding value with the 50th pick is no easy task. Most of, if not all of, the truly enticing talent that declared for the draft has already been scooped up, leaving teams picking later in the draft searching for crumbs and scraping the bottom of the barrel. But every once in a blue moon, a diamond in the rough can be found such as a Manu Ginobili, Isaiah Thomas, or even a Patty Mills or Georges Niang.
As the Thunder search for their own diamond in the rough this year, they would do well to scope out Chris Livingston, a former McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit coming out of high school.
Hailing from Akron, Ohio, Livingston is a 6-foot-7 forward with eye-popping athleticism, a strong frame, and an unrefined game. At just 19 years old, he’s shown awesome burst and physicality as a driver, a knack for rebounding, as well as mouthwatering flashes on the defensive side of the ball but needs to find a way to improve his jumper and handle to really maximize his athletic gifts.
As a freshman at Kentucky, Livingston averaged just 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in just 22.4 minutes per game while shooting only 42.9 percent from the floor, 30.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.2 percent from the free throw line. Consequently, he finished with a disappointing true shooting percentage of just 51.3 while also recording an awfully low assist rate, usage rate, and free throw rate for a prospect that was once so highly touted.
But what’s intriguing about Livingston is just how easily the Thunder might be able to turn him into a good roleplayer at the wing position.
The former Wildcat has all the tools to succeed on the defensive side of the floor and has flashed a simple, but tight enough handle to help put forth the idea that he’s not so far away from being a solid ‘3-and-D’ wing who also has enough strength and length to match up with a lot of forwards, making Livingston a classic prospect that leaves scouts wondering, “what if the shot comes around?”
If the Thunder do decide to take a chance on Livingston with the 50th pick, there likely won’t be any onus on him to contribute right away. They could sign him to a two-way contract, allow him to develop in the G League, work with Chip Engelland, and pray that he figures it all out.
And if he does, the Thunder could be staring at a late second round pick that blossoms into a two-way wing, a hot commodity in today’s league.
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