Name: Darius Bazley
Position: Forward
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 216 pounds
Season recap
One day after their blockbuster deal for Kevin Durant, the Suns traded for Darius Bazley, who was the No. 23 pick in the 2019 draft.
Bazley played his first 3 ½ seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He started 108 combined games in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
Darius Bazley suffered a tibial plateau fracture in a March game in 2022. He returned for the start of the 2022-23 season but did not start for the Thunder.
Seeking some perimeter help, the Suns traded forward Dario Saric, a 2029 second-round pick and cash considerations for Bazley, who has great athleticism. He also has defensive potential with his listed 7-foot wingspan.
He did not get to show it much for the Suns. Bazley did not find a role in the team’s rotation and only entered playoff games when they were effectively over.
Darius Bazley is a restricted free agent. The Suns can extend a qualifying offer of $6,205,035, or he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Phoenix’s future plans should decide if they will keep Bazley or not.
Bazley just finished his fourth season, but he is 23 years old. He had potential seen in the Suns’ final game of the regular season, when he had 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting in just under 27 minutes.
Bazley had this poster dunk over Clippers center Ivica Zubac:
What he did best
Suns fans did not see Darius Bazley much this season. You can tell with his physique, he is someone who can build on his athleticism and rangy wingspan and turn into a stronger player. He is just 23 years old and has time to grow into his body.
Strangely, Bazley did not play after the high school level before the NBA. He intended to play college basketball at Syracuse but opted for the NBA G-League and then decided to train on his own. He was a five-star prospect in the 2018 class by the 247Sports Composite.
Bazley got plenty of run with the Thunder, who are a very young team, but his role obviously changed with the Suns. He sat behind forwards Terrence Ross and T.J. Warren, who did not play much in the postseason themselves, so it was hard to see what he can do outside of the final regular-season game.
In that contest, Bazley played with the backups, so it was never possible to see what he looked like next to Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and other starters. Bazley clearly has a lot of talent though and had good spurts in practices open to the media.
He is bigger than a lot of people, and it’s simply hard to guard him because of how long he is. He can take advantage of small forwards if he plays there, and it seems like he has the skill set for it given his coordination, handle and explosiveness around the rim.
What he can improve on
Bazley did not show much he could improve on since he did not play often. But he is young, so he has to continue to understand he has to prove himself, especially if he is on a championship contender.
NBA veterans will see Bazley is young and skinnier, so they will go at him. It’s on him to work on strength training so he can bulk up and be more of a stalwart against experienced players.
Bazley has solid athleticism and can use it to his advantage. He has to be intentional at enforcing his strengths and showing he is not afraid to do his best.
There have been several high-caliber players who have entered the league skinny and have had to shape up. This is a far-fetched example, but Giannis Antetokounmpo put strength to his body and is arguably the hardest one-on-one player to stop from getting to the rim. Bazley might even have more athleticism than him and can become an effective player once he puts on strength.
Does Bazley have a hungry attitude, though? That remains to be seen. Competitive edge is something an NBA player needs to survive a grueling 82-game season. Contracts can make players softer, too, so he has to prove he’s proving himself beyond a bigger deal.
Future outlook
The Suns are going all-in for a championship this season, so we don’t know if Bazley will be in those plans. He is cheap, however, so if they feel like they can develop him, he could be worth keeping around.
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