With Lu Dort struggling to make strong contributions on the floor, it does seem that Oklahoma City is leaning toward reducing his minutes and changing their rotation. If you’re watching the Thunder in the past few weeks, then you may have noticed a drop in his playing minutes so far.

In the last three games, Dort’s minutes have seen a sharp drop from being a full-time defender to being a second defender. He logged 29 and 30 minutes against Boston and Denver, respectively, but was sitting out the closing minutes of the game. Then we’ve seen him play reduced minutes in wins against Minnesota and Orlando, which says a lot about how his value may be depreciating at this point.

We all know Dort’s a great defender. He even got All-Defense honors last year. However, one can easily spot that he’s now shooting 37.4% from the field, which is a career low, even compared to his rookie season. His 8.5 points per game this season is also the lowest he’s averaged since his first year in the NBA. Two of the lowest minutes outputs of his career have come in the last 72 hours, so that’s something to keep an eye out for.

On top of that, we’ve seen more minutes go to notable backups in Ajay Mitchell, who’s been superb in his return from injury. Jared McCain is also booming with the Thunder and is showing an increased level of play. Isaiah Joe is also earning some huge minutes with his shooting and defense. Let’s not forget Cason Wallace, whose league-leading steals continue to play a huge role in the Thunder’s success.

At this point, Dort’s status with the team is raising some questions, and definitely will ignite some talks heading into the playoffs and the offseason.

Dort’s Defense is Becoming a Liability

OKC’s defense is its strength. No doubt, Dort has played a huge role in shaping that identity over the years. Alex Caruso’s upbringing definitely took it up to speed, but Dort was the founding enforcer and OG defender for Oklahoma City. However, the past few games have shown that Dort’s defense is starting to slip by, even not being able to shut down offensive players like he used to.

With the Thunder bench showing strong depth and defensive identity, Dort is starting to become a liability with the way he plays defense. Let’s be frank, some are accusing him of being the next Draymond Green, saying that every dynasty needs an enforcer to begin with.

The fact that he’s -24 in the Thunder’s recent five-point win against Orlando says a lot. He’s not even generating steals or blocks, and heck, he didn’t shut down Paolo Banchero, as he didn’t have the Jalen Suggs or Desmond Bane assignment. It’s often disappointing that Dort doesn’t hit the mark for a defensive shutdown once more, but he’s increasingly becoming a liability for OKC in their recent games.

Hopes for Reconsideration

The Thunder won’t win the 2025 NBA Finals without Lu Dort, and that’s a fact. However, it does get to a point where it’s definitely tiring to see Dort chuck up a lot of shots and miss those. But we have seen him come up with those rainbow threes like it is a shotgun to the chest. At this point, it’s safe to say that OKC is willing to give him a chance.

Just like Josh Giddey’s case back in 2023-24, the Thunder didn’t move him at the Trade Deadline. It’s only right that OKC fans are divided on what to do with Lu Dort’s future, considering that the team is now locked in for a playoff campaign.

But when Dort hits his strides right, he can get hot, drill timely threes that become such a prayer for many fans. If you don’t remember, Dort single-handedly delivered Game 5 for OKC in that Denver series.

This may be the streakiest of all Dort’s seasons. However, it’s worth noting that his defensive productivity–and by result, his offense–has gone down as well. However, no one can knock out clutch threes in playoff games. The playoff chase will be the final stage for Dort to prove his worth.

By now, it’s a general opinion for many that Dort should be gone. But he’s been a core piece of the team, and it’s only fitting to see him get a shot to prove his worth to this OKC squad in the long run. With just a few more games left in the season, he’s got to slowly improve and turn up the engines.