The Oklahoma City Thunder went with Stanford Cardinal defensive guru Josh Huestis with the No. 29 pick in the NBA Draft.
Oklahoma City Thunder select Josh Huestis with the No. 29 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft
The Thunder grab a great wing defender out of the Pac-12 late in the first round.
Andy Lyons
Huestis played out his college eligibility with Stanford and during his senior season averaged 11.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Measuring 6’7 with a 7’1 wingspan, Huestis’ NBA-readiness all comes on the defensive side of the ball.
He blocked 1.9 shots per game this past season playing small forward for the Cardinal, and he has the athletic gifts to project in the NBA quite well on that end of the court. That’s good because he likely won’t help much offensively, where the former high school center is still a bit raw. Huestis shot 34 percent from deep the past two seasons and has shown signs he’s not done developing a decent jumper.
While Huestis may not be comfortable putting the ball on the floor, he does play within himself and could become an intriguing professional talent with a consistent shot.
As the Thunder gear up for the playoffs next season, Thabo Sefolosha's free agent status presents yet another offseason decision they will have to make. If they cannot bring back Sefolosha, adding Huestis to the mix should at least help replace some of that defensive production. Sam Presti made the right pick on the board for his team need.
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