NBA: 10 relative unknowns entering defining seasons in 2017-18

7. Doug McDermott

Remember back in 2014, when the Chicago Bulls traded the No. 16 pick (Jusuf Nurkic) and the No. 19 pick in the draft (Gary Harris) to move up to No. 11, only to spend that pick on Doug McDermott, a player they’d trade less than three years later? Good times!

However, as much fun as ridiculing the Bulls’ front office is, that also speaks volumes about how underwhelming Dougie Fresh’s NBA career has been so far. Though he’s a career 39.4 percent shooter from long range, McDermott’s defense is so bad he’s been unable to stay on the floor (which makes Chicago’s drafting of Lauri Markkanen that much more hilarious, but I digress).

Now with the Oklahoma City Thunder on a team that has legitimate aspirations of advancing in the Western Conference playoffs, the 25-year-old wing will be hoping to prove himself to Billy Donovan thanks to his ability to spread the floor.

Unfortunately, the arrivals of Paul George and Patrick Patterson, not to mention another year of development for Alex Abrines, could present challenges to his trademark skill as long as improved defense doesn’t come with it. As a restricted free agent next summer, the pressure is on to improve from the 6.6 points per game on .452/.362/.706 shooting splits he posted in OKC.