Thunder two-way player Dort shows promise
Luguentz Dort stood up and walked out of Barclays Center in the middle of the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft. He had traveled to New York with the hope, and expectation, that he'd hear his name called. He left when it was clear that Dort wasn't going
to happen. Dort, a former Arizona State guard, and two Sun Devils coaches told The Oklahoman that teams expressed interest in selecting Do rt as a draft-and-stash player. Dort declined. He had another route in mind. As soon as he returned to his room at Grand Hyatt, Dort said, he received a call from Thunder general manager Sam Presti.
“The next day I flew right away to OKC,” Dort said.
Dort was the only twoway contract player on the Thunder's roster as of Tuesday afternoon, meaning he can spend up to 45 days of service with the Thunder while playing in the G League for the Blue the rest of the time. The Thunder waived Donte Grantham last week and did not extend a qualifying offer to Jawun Evans, leaving one of two available twoway contract spots open.
Last season, OK C cycled through four two-way players. The team started with forward Deonte Burton and center Tyler Davis. The Thunder waived Davis in December to make room for Grantham. Then it signed Burton to a standard NBA contract in March and claimed Evans off waivers.
For Do rt ,20, that means there' s recent precedent f or promotion within the Thunder organization, but it's not guaranteed.
“He's a player that just has incredible physical gifts and has the potential to be, I think, a really good defender,” Presti said. “But he's going to need work and refinement, and I think he's extremely motivated. He' s an extremely high-character
person. Very humble. I'm excited to see kind of how he progresses through the season.”
Dort joined Arizona State as a five-star recruit, and the Canadian made an impression early. In the same week he arrived at ASU, Dort popped into Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley's office to ask if he would go over film with him on ball-screen situations.
“I've rarely had a guy that's done that, especially a guy that's just coming in,” Hurley said in a phone interview. “He demonstrated a willingness to learn and didn't feel like he knew everything.”
As early as summer workouts — which Hurley said Dort dominated — Hurley and ASU associate head coach Rashon Burno realized that they'd have to start recruiting a replacement for Dort.
“This guy is not going to be here that long ,” Hurley remembers them saying.
Dort declared for the NBA Draft in April after one season in Tempe, and by mid-June, mock drafts projected the P ac -12 Freshman of t he Year to be late first-round or early second-round pick. Hurley said he's never coached a freshman who was more prepared to enter the NBA.
“I was really disappointed and sad ,” Dort said of going undrafted, “but I'm tough enough to know that all I can do is move forward.”
As Presti said, Dort has room to develop. That was clear when he airballed as hot from the top of the arc in a Summer League game against Croatia last month. But he drained another 3-point shot late in the game and could fill a highlight reel with his on-ball defense.
“I think Coach (Billy) Donovan is the perfect fit for Lu because Coach Donovan is a skill-developer,” said Burno, who coached under Donovan at Florida for three seasons .“And I think Lu can learn from coach and his ability to get guards better. And I know he's Coach D's type of player because of his work ethic. And he's not a rah- rah guy; he's not a guy that's really going to wow you with fluff. He's a meat and potatoes-type player.”
Dort joined the Thunder when he thought he'd be teaming up with Russell Westbrook, who was the reason Dort watched the Thunder growing up. But Dort speaks optimistically about the coming season regardless of the franchise's unexpected shift that, in part, sent Westbrook to Houston earlier this month.
“There's a lot of spots open right now,” Dort said, “so I just want to work hard and work my way through it, and hopefully it happens.”