Aleksej Pokusevski is a mystery.
The 18-year-old is seven feet tall but has skills like a guard. He can shoot and play the perimeter, but he has also established himself as a capable shot blocker. Yet he’s listed on the Thunder’s training camp roster as 195 pounds, and he’s a player who needs to bulk up.
Will he be a center? Wing? Point forward? It’s all still unclear. The Oklahoma City Thunder traded up to get his draft rights with the No. 17 pick, but they still don’t know exactly what his future holds. He doesn’t, either.
“I don’t have any expectations,” Pokusevski said Dec. 3. “Whatever Coach asks me to do, I’m going to do it. That’s my job.”
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said it’s “tough this early” to know what type of role Pokusevski will play. Before anything else, he has to adapt to the culture and different style of basketball than in Greece, where he played professionally, or Serbia, where he was born.
“What we’re focused on right now with a guy like him is professional habits, understanding the Thunder, understanding our culture and the standards that we have here,” Daigneault said Monday.
“On the court, obviously we’re out there working on things in practice, but most of what we’re doing are fundamental, core skills on both ends of the floor that kind of transcend anybody’s game … we’re focused on big picture stuff with him and we’re going to take it step by step.”
Oklahoma City has simplified the lessons a bit. Instead of using training camp to try to learn his entire range of his abilities, the Thunder are giving Pokusevski smaller areas to focus on as he adapts.
He’s been taking most of his defensive reps against wings at practice, not centers or bigs.
“With somebody like him that probably could go either way, rather than throwing two different positions at him with two different responsibilities, we’ve decided to prioritize,” Daigneault said.
“We’re starting him on the perimeter with those sorts of defensive skills. That’s not to say that that won’t change. It’s not to say that as time goes on, he won’t end up guarding different people, but as of right now, we’re focusing more on perimeter skills.”
It’s little by little. Pokusevski is still a raw player and needs to grow before he can be a real difference-maker on the court. Hailing from the second division in Greece, he needs to not only adapt his own game but learn to compete with NBA players.
He’s comfortable with how the Thunder are progressing.
“The team that has a process all the time that they’re working on with the young players,” he said. “They have a great history with young players.”
Oklahoma City is counting on that history of strong development here. In trading up to get Pokusevski, the Thunder are hoping he can be one of the first pieces of the future.
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