Trade Review: Taking a Look at Darius Bazley’s Departure

Coming into this season, the room for opportunity and margin for failure was run thin for Darius Bazley during his Oklahoma City Thunder tenure. Bazley was in his fourth year with the Thunder before being traded.

On February 9th, 2023, Bazley was traded for Dario Saric, a 2023 second-round pick and cash considerations in a deal with the Phoenix Suns.

For the Suns, they didn’t move much. Jock Landale had taken Saric’s role as the backup big man and Saric didn’t have much of a role following his injury. Bringing in Bazley didn’t do much either. He played very few minutes in his seven appearances as a Sun, and has yet to play any playoff basketball, despite the Suns being in the sixth game of the second round.

If either side benefited greatly from Bazley’s departure, it was Bazley. He was needing a change of scenery, as his role with the Thunder had become inconsistent and he wasn't playing well within the Thunder’s system. Now, he has a chance to soak up knowledge on a contending team and use that knowledge to carve out a long, role player-type career.

Saric started his Thunder tenure off slowly, but would pick up as he proved his value. The 29-year-old, acquired after Mike Muscala’s departure, is the oldest player on the Thunder, and has been to the NBA Finals, so there is value in that. On top of that, Saric is an incredible screen-setter, which helps the young ball handlers. His ability to stretch the floor helped, too. He provided a calm presence in Kenrich Williams’ absence late in the season.

Though Saric wasn’t the reason the Thunder made the Play-In Tournament, he played a solid role in them doing so.

There is no clear-cut winner in this trade, as both sides got rid of players that no longer made sense in their respective scenarios, but the Thunder came away with a future second-round pick.

All-in-all, the trade didn’t move much but may end up helping each of the two players involved with what they need at this point in their careers.

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