Huestis’ option deadline approaches for OKC
When the Thunder drafted Josh Huestis in 2014 and told him it planned to stash him in a developmental league for a year, the forward wasn’t discouraged.
“It was intriguing to me,” Huestis told The Oklahoman last week. “It had never been done before, and my path in this game has never been ordinary. I looked at it as an opportunity to carve my own path, be a trailblazer in a way.”
This is a significant week on that trail he’s blazed.
Four years into the experiment, Huestis is seeing rotation minutes for the first time with the Thunder, which now faces a decision about his future.
Oklahoma City has a team option on the fourth year of Huestis’ rookie contract. The team has to decide by Tuesday if it wants to pick up that 2018-19 option or allow him to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
There’s a case for either action.
Huestis has played in each of the Thunder’s first six games, totaling 76 minutes. In his first two seasons, he played 86 combined minutes over seven games, spending most of his time with the Blue, OKC’s team in what’s now called the G League, where he played the entire 2014-15 season.
Though he’s limited offensively, Huestis is showing that he’s a capable defender. He’s a good athlete with a developing 3-point shot, and he’s versatile enough to plug in at multiple positions.
He’s looked increasingly like a viable NBA player on a good contract. If the Thunder picks up his option, he’ll be paid $2.2 million next season.
But there likely will be less-expensive options, and every dollar might matter for Oklahoma City if it finds itself in the best-case basketball scenario: Carmelo Anthony opts in to the final year of his contract for $27.9 million and Paul George resigns with the team, likely on a maximum contract that would pay him $30.3 million in 2018-19.
With Russell Westbrook due to make $35.3 million next season, the Thunder — already over the salary cap this season — could have an exploding payroll, and that could mean seeking bargains further down the roster.
George hot early for OKC
Even though he fouled out against Indiana, George was getting into an offensive rhythm.
In the last three games, George has found it early for the Thunder in the first quarter. Against Indiana, Minnesota and Chicago, George went perfect from 3 (5-of-5) and has led the NBA in first-quarter points in that span.
George entered this week among the league leaders in first-quarter points (46, fourth), and is shooting 57.1 percent overall (16-of28) and 53.3 percent from 3-point range (8-of-15) in the first this season. What’s been working?
“I feel a lot more comfortable with being in catch-and-shoot situations,” George said. “I’m still figuring out some other areas I can exploit, but I think the game is starting to open up for me.”
The Thunder and Golden State are the only two teams in the NBA with two players in the Top 10 in catch-and-shoot points. Anthony and George rank fifth and seventh in the league, respectively.