Huestis’ positive play highlights OKC’s wing woes
PORTLAND, Ore. — Josh Huestis was drafted in June of 2014 at the age of 22, old for a prospect. He turned 24 this December, still yet to record an NBA minute.
In those 19 months, he went from a unique domestic draft-and-stash story to a complete afterthought, assumed by many to have been a Sam Presti strikeout on a late first-round pick.
Then in a throwaway game in Detroit last week, with Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka resting, coach Billy Donovan took him for a brief test drive. Huestis played 16 minutes and made three nice plays — rotating over for a blocked shot, cutting baseline for a dunk and knocking down a corner 3 off a feed from Russell Westbrook. A solid, mistake-free shift.
Then he went right back to the inactive list.
Until Wednesday night in Portland, when the Thunder sat four of its five starters. In reserve, Huestis got 21 minutes. He grabbed six rebounds. He hit back-to-back crucial fourth-quarter 3s.
Then he made his first real mistake — throwing the ball away under his own basket late in the game. But he immediately made up for it, stuffing a Mo Harkless dunk attempt seconds later.
As the postseason nears, it seems rather silly to wonder whether Huestis,
who has more career DNPs than minutes played, is a rotation option. But such is the state of the Thunder’s shaky backup wing situation.
So with three meaningless tune-up games left, why not test it out?
“Going forward, we’ll evaluate that,” Donovan said. “I’m not going to say we know for sure we’re gonna all of a sudden throw him in there the last three games a lot of minutes. But it’s good to see him progressing the way he has.”
The real issue here has been the continued poor play of Kyle Singler. After signing a five-year, $25 million deal this summer, Singler had a nightmare open to the season. At one point, he had the worst efficiency rating in NBA history.
From mid-January to early March, Singler recovered a bit, playing decently. But over the past month, he has reverted to his early-season form, clanging 3s and fouling at an alarming rate. Among regularly-used wings, his 4.4 fouls per 36 minutes are the fifth most in the league.
Anthony Morrow seems the most obvious choice to take Singler’s minutes, should Donovan shift away from him. In Denver on Tuesday, after Singler missed three shots and picked up two early fouls, Donovan pulled him for Morrow.
The veteran sharpshooter came in and hit three 3s, opened up the floor and the Thunder’s offense took off. OKC outscored the Nuggets by 14 in his 24 minutes.
But after the game, when pressed, Donovan praised Singler’s defense: “The one thing Kyle does have is his length, his size and he’s a very good defender … I wouldn’t say coming down the stretch it’s a point where Anthony is now gonna be (played) instead of Kyle.”
Percentage-wise, Morrow is one of the most accurate 3-point shooters in the league’s history — 42.5 percent career. But he’s never been able to find a steady role. Coaches don’t seem to trust his defense.
Which is why, if Donovan insists on a defender in that role, the Huestis option has some sudden intrigue. The 6-foot-7, 230-pounder is Stanford’s all-time leading shotblocker. He’s quick enough to guard on the perimeter but also provides valuable rim protection.
Huestis had two blocks in two games and six rebounds on Wednesday night. Singler has one block since the All-Star break and hasn’t had six rebounds in a game this season.
“It’s all about timing,” Huestis said. “I think that’s something I can do here. Given the opportunity to go up and block shots, I’ll be able to get some.”
Then there’s the all-important floor-spacing. In 69 D-League games the past two seasons, Huestis shot 31 percent from three, a below average clip.
But the mechanics look good and Huestis said he feels it improving. In his limited playing time, Huestis has made all four of his 3s. Meanwhile Singler is mired in a deep shooting slump, missing 16 straight 3s dating back to March 6, dropping him to 27.5 percent for the season.
“It’s progressed a lot,” Huestis said of his shot. “That’s something I wasn’t doing a whole lot of in college. Then last year, it wasn’t as pure as it feels now.”
Forty-two career minutes. That’s all the NBA has ever seen of Josh Huestis. A microscopic sample size. But in those 42, he’s provided a splash of defense and floor-spacing.
Is it enough to get him a three-game trial run before the postseason. At a spot lacking consistency in both areas, what could it hurt?