THUNDER STANDOUT
Whether the season resumes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic or not, Luguentz Dort's rookie season will be remembered for him out-performing his contract
Thunder general manager S a m P r e s t i c o mpar e s t h e second round of the NBA Draft to the experience of the stock market floor.
The conference room in the Thunder practice facility was full and bustling last summer. As the conversation shifted from how to acquire another pick, to potential undrafted free agents, Presti yielded the floor to his scouts.
When i t c a me t i me f o r Brandon Miller to speak, his colleagues already had a good idea of who he was going to lobby for: Luguentz Dort.
“Brandon was as consistent as he had been throughout that he felt like Lu was the right person for us,” Presti told The Oklahoman earlier this year.
Whether the season resumes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic or not, Dort's rookie season will be remembered for him out- performing his contract. Of all of last summer's undrafted free agents, Dort is one of five who played over 600 NBA minutes this season. Of those five, Dort and Warriors rookie Ky Bowman were the only two on twoway contracts, which are less expensive than standard NBA rookie deals.
B e f o r e t h e h i a t u s , t h e Thunder was expected to sign Dort to a full-time contract before the end of the season, in order to make him playoff eligible.
“Right now, I'm just staying patient,” Dort said at the end of February. “I know it's a great organization, and they know what they're doing. ... I can't wait until it happens, for sure, and that's my goal, but right now I'm really just staying patient.”
Two-way contracts, which allow players up to 45 days of NBA service, are an item on a l ong l i st of t hings t he l eague will need to address a s i t c h a r t e r s a p a t h f o r - war d . F o r n o w, t wo- way contacts are functioning as if the players are with their G League teams. Naturally, with play suspended for both leagues, two-way players are not engaging i n basketball
activities with their NBA t e a ms. De p e n d i n g o n how many regular season g a mes t h e NBA p l a y s i f and when the season resumes, Dort may not even use all 45 days.
Either way, OKC doesn't have to worry about losing Dort over the summer. Even if the season is canc e l l e d , Dor t b e c o mes a restricted free agent, giving the Thunder the opportunity to match any offers from other teams.
The Thunder couldn't have predicted that Dort — who has averaged 6.2 p o i n t s a n d s t a r t e d 2 1 games as a rookie — would claim a spot in the starting lineup halfway through the season.
Miller did, however, see a future NBA contributor in the Arizona State freshman early on in the evaluation process.
“Brandon had done a good job throughout the year convincing people that Lu deserved a lot of investment on our part with our time,” Presti said.
B u t t h e f i r s t t i m e Presti saw Dort play in person, the trip didn't go how Miller might have hoped. The Sun Devils were playing Princeton, a “challenging, unique” matchup, according to Presti.
D o r t c o m m i t t e d two fouls in the first 12
minutes and shot 1-of-8 from the field.
“I could al most f eel Brandon sensing that it wasn't going Lu's way that night,” Presti said, chucking. “We've all been there. … But as we know, and Brandon knows, it's a much bigger body of work than just one game or one practice.”
That fact was fortunate for both parties.
Dort was projected to be a high second-round pick last summer. But as the draft progressed, teams reached out to see if he'd be interested in a draftand-stash arrangement.
“I felt like I was a better player than that,” Dort t o l d T h e O k l a h o ma n during Summer League last year.
Meanwhile, b a c k i n O k l a h o m a C i t y , t h e
Thunder's efforts to land a s e c o n d - r o u n d p i c k were coming up short — Charlotte owned OKC's pick due to a draft-night trade a year prior. So, di s c uss i ons t ur ned t o undrafted free agents.
“There were some other names that people had raised,” Presti said, “but I think just in the spirit of the group, and the special dynamics that we have within that room, and the people we have as evaluators, everyone seeded the floor to Brandon and really were able to get behind Lu as the consensus person.”
Midway t hrough t he second round, Dort said, he got the news that OKC was interested in signing him to a two-way contract. He l eft Barclays Center before the draft ended, knowing he wanted
to join the Thunder.
“I t w a s d e f i n i t e l y tough,” Dort said of going undrafted. “... I was really disappointed and sad, but I'm tough enough. And I know that all I can do is move forward, and know I belong in this league. So, I'm just going to work hard and get there.”
Soon after he got back to his room at the Grand Hyatt New York, Dort received a call from Presti. The future Thunder guard flew out to Oklahoma City the next day.
As Dort and Presti talked over a meal in the practice facility dining room, Presti jotted down on a note card a list of things to remember.
The first topic: Draft night is not the end of anything; This is the beginning of everything for you.