NBA TV Analyst and Former NBA Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell believes that the Oklahoma City Thunder got an absolute steal with Darius Bazley in the NBA draft. He even went on a limb and described him as a “taller Paul George.”

Obviously, Mitchell is very high on this kid.

Bazley, selected 23rd overall in last Thursday's draft by the Thunder, is a long, athletic 6-foot-9 forward who can dribble the ball and get to the basket.

The 19-year old took a very unconventional route to the NBA. He was a consensus five-star recruit coming out of high school.

Bazley had already committed to play for Syracuse, but backed out at the last minute with plans to about going straight to the G-League. This move garnered huge media attention throughout the country as no other player had taken this route to the NBA before.

After thinking about it more and getting advice from his agent, the powerhouse Klutch Sports Group, Bazley skipped on his G-League plans and decided to train on his own. In October, he began a $1-million 3-month internship deal with New Balance.

Obviously, this decision to basically red shirt an entire year, not playing in any kind of organized basketball at all, was a very risky move on the part of Bazley. Scouts did not have anything to work with other than what they saw from him in high school and his individual work outs prior to the draft.

However, this move seemed to pay off as he was still selected in the first round. How he will perform in the best league in the world remains to be seen.

Sam Mitchell thinks he'll be a special talent in this league for a long time.