Oklahoma City Thunder: Report Card for 2015 Trade-Deadline Performance
The NBA trade deadline has passed, and the Oklahoma City Thunder have stolen the show.
The team managed to check every box on its midseason wish list just before the clock struck 3 p.m. ET on a wild day of player movement.
The Thunder started the day needing to find a new home for disgruntled point guard Reggie Jackson, who had demanded a trade earlier in the week, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. The club also needed an interior-scoring presence, another outside shooter, depth at small forward and a backup point guard to replace Jackson.
OKC wound up batting 1.000, but not before re-visiting a deal for Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez. Per Wojnarowski, the Thunder and Nets were reportedly close to a trade that would have sent Jackson, Kendrick Perkins and Perry Jones to Brooklyn in exchange for Lopez.
The Lopez deal never came to fruition, as the Thunder opted to look elsewhere for frontcourt help.
For Oklahoma City, the decision not to acquire Lopez might have been its best move of the day. For all of the big man's talent, there's also a huge injury risk as well as a hefty price tag attached. The 26-year-old has $32 million over two years remaining on his contract, via HoopsHype, and he hasn't played a full season since his 2010-11 campaign.
Instead, the Thunder agreed to a three-team deal with the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz that brought former No. 3 overall pick (2011) Enes Kanter to OKC, per NBA.com.
The trade sent Jackson to Motown, where he'll run the show in place of the injured Brandon Jennings.
Utah acquired Perkins (though the Jazz are expected to buy out his contract, per Wojnarowski), Grant Jerrett, the draft rights to 2010 second-round pick Tibor Pleiss, the Pistons' 2016 second-round pick and a protected 2017 first-round pick from OKC.
The Thunder also received D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler, Steve Novak and Detroit's 2019 second-round pick. To make additional space for the new additions, Oklahoma City sent Ish Smith and the rights to Latavius Williams to the New Orleans Pelicans for draft considerations, per NBA.com.
In one trade, Thunder general manager Sam Presti turned two players with no future into frontcourt help and quality depth on the second unit.
With the frenzy over, this seems like a good opportunity to break down each component of the deal and grade the team's trade-deadline performance.
Thunder Acquire PG D.J. Augustin
By getting rid of Jackson alone, the Thunder did a good job.
Coming into his contract year, Jackson saw himself as a starting-caliber player worthy of a huge payday. According to USA Today's Sam Amick, the Boston College product turned down the Thunder's four-year, $48 million offer in October.
That deal was similar to the one the Charlotte Hornets gave Kemba Walker, who has been significantly more productive over his career than Jackson has. Per Amick, Jackson was seeking something closer to the five-year, $70 million contract Eric Bledsoe got from the Phoenix Suns.
Making matters worse, the Thunder acquired Dion Waiters from the Cleveland Cavaliers in January and almost immediately handed him Jackson's sixth-man role.
Since Waiters' arrival, Jackson's playing time and production have dwindled. When asked earlier in the week if he wanted to continue playing basketball in Oklahoma City, R-Jax was non-committal, per Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman.
"I would love to play basketball. You take it as what you want, man. I just want to play basketball to the best of my ability. I try to put together a string of good games. I've been playing as aggressive as I can in what the minutes allow. I've just been trying to do my best. Everybody knows the shooting percentage hasn't necessarily been the greatest. But I continue to just try to find spots to be aggressive, get teammates open when guys collapse and hopefully just get some shots to fall.
"
Judging by the comments made by the team's two biggest stars, you get the feeling that Jackson won't be missed, per ESPN.com's Royce Young.
"You can't force anybody to be here that doesn't want to be here," Russell Westbrook said.
"He got what he wanted," Kevin Durant said.
"It was pretty easy," Durant added when asked if it was challenging to get through the day with all the moving parts. "We felt like everybody wanted to be here except for one guy."
With this deal, the Thunder remove Jackson's potentially toxic situation while getting a solid backup in Augustin.
Jackson and Augustin have produced similar numbers this season (chart below), with Augustin being the better outside shooter of the two. Augustin is also under contract for next season at a reasonable $3 million and is a former college teammate of Durant's.
| Name | Field-Goal Percentage | Three-Point Percentage | Minutes Per Game | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Assists Per Game |
| Reggie Jackson | 43.2 | 27.8 | 28 | 12.8 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| D.J. Augustin | 41 | 32.7 | 23.8 | 10.6 | 1.9 | 4.9 |
Augustin isn't the offensive creator that Jackson was; he can't come in off the bench and take over a game like Jackson. However, he's a steady veteran who can provide quality minutes behind Westbrook.
More importantly, the Thunder improve by not having to worry about keeping Jackson happy anymore.
Grade: B
Thunder Acquire C Enes Kanter
Next, there's the addition of Kanter, who gives the Thunder the kind of scoring option in the paint they sorely lack.
Kanter is averaging 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds as well as converting 49.1 percent of his field-goal attempts. The emergence of shot-blocker Rudy Gobert helped make him expendable in Utah.
The decision to opt for Kanter over Lopez was wise. The 22-year-old Kanter is four years younger and will make more than half of what Lopez is owed this season. The Turkish big man is also a restricted free agent this summer, which gives the team some control.
With Perkins and Jackson out of the picture, OKC has the money to fit Kanter into its future plans.
In the meantime, he'll fill in for the injured Steven Adams, who is out for at least three weeks with a broken hand.
Regardless of who starts when Adams returns, the Thunder will have a post presence on the floor at all times. A tandem of rookie Mitch McGary and either Kanter or Adams would give the second unit some firepower up front.
Presti spoke highly of what Kanter brings to the table, per Mayberry.
"Enes gives us a player and an option that we haven’t had really before with a skilled player that can play with his back to the basket. He creates some lineup opportunities that we think will be very beneficial for us going forward. We think his best basketball is in front of him.
"
Presti added that Kanter could play center or power forward, which brings up the possibility of an intriguing "twin towers" lineup where he and Adams play together.
The loss of Perkins hurts from a defensive and leadership standpoint. He was the team's best post defender, and his guidance had been key in Adams' development this season.
The big Texan thanked fans on Twitter not long after news of the trade broke.
With Perkins gone, Adams becomes OKC's defensive anchor up front. Nick Collison, who got the start at center in the team's win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, will also figure into the mix. Kanter isn't the stout defender that Perkins was, which means guys like Adams and Serge Ibaka will have to compensate for his shortcomings.
Adams' return may pose a problem as well. Kanter wanted out of Utah because of unhappiness with his role (per Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune). Would he be content playing possibly playing behind Adams, or could the club have another Reggie Jackson situation on their hands? How will that affect the team's willingness to retain Kanter this summer? Could Kanter be merely a half-season rental?
It's a bridge the team will cross when it gets to it, but these potential obstacles lower the grade just a little.
Grade: A-
Thunder Add Kyle Singler and Steve Novak
Lastly, the Thunder filled a need for outside shooting with Novak and Singler.
The club was near the bottom of the league in three-point shooting, converting just 32.5 percent from behind the arc. Singler was shooting 40.6 percent from downtown with the Pistons, while the 6'10" Novak holds a 43.4 percent mark from deep.
Singler gives the team a quality backup behind Durant, who went into the All-Star break complaining of soreness in his surgically repaired right foot. The soreness flared up in the Dallas game, and Durant hobbled for most of the second half before sitting out the final minutes.
With Novak, Singler and Anthony Morrow, the team now has a bevy of shooters on the second unit, which should create a ton of space for the club's improved front line.
If there's an overall knock on the Thunder's big trade, it's that it might have made the team too deep. The team still has three power forwards, three small forwards and four shooting guards. Players like Perry Jones and Jeremy Lamb, who weren't a big part of the rotation before, will now fade even further into obscurity.
Still, for a team that spent much of the season's first month short-handed, you can never have enough healthy bodies.
Grade: B-
The team already had momentum on its side, winning six of its last seven and moving into the eighth seed for the first time this season. Now, with one masterstroke, OKC is younger, deeper and more versatile.
Look out, Western Conference. Here come the Thunder.
Overall Grade For Three-Team Deal: A-
Not Trading For Brook Lopez: A+
Final Trade Deadline Grade: A
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
