Former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Josh Huestis has been invited to the San Antonio Spurs' training camp, according to Fred Katz of MassLive.com. Huestis hasn't yet signed his Exhibit 10 contract, but he's working out in San Antonio.
Huestis was selected with the No. 29 overall pick out of Stanford in the 2014 NBA Draft. Even though he was selected as a first-rounder by the Thunder, the team convinced him to forgo signing his rookie contract to sign a deal with their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. This made him the league's first domestic “draft-and-stash” player.
This strategy is typically used on international players who are still developing or want to wait a few years before coming to the NBA. The point of being a first-round draft pick is to get guaranteed money through a rookie contract. Second-round contracts are not guaranteed. While Huestis missed out on this opportunity, he bided his time and joined the Thunder in 2015.
Huestis posted averages of 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists in his three seasons with the Thunder. While this stat line isn't very impressive, he made himself serviceable by appearing in 69 games for the team last season.
At 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, Huestis can play either the power forward or small forward spot. Most of his impact comes on the defensive end. His ability to guard multiple positions is his greatest strength. His effort helped hold Andrew Wiggins to 1-of-6 shooting in Stanford's upset over Kansas in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
Being a positionless player isn't always the best thing, though. Huestis is not quite explosive enough to compete with athletes at the small forward position, and he is also not big enough to play the power forward spot. While he can give you hustle points, he is shooting a shade above 31 percent from behind the arc for his career.
The Spurs currently have 13 guaranteed contracts on the roster, so it is not quite full yet.
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