The NBA’s trade deadline was a busy racket this year, and the Oklahoma City Thunder were among those making the biggest splashes.
It took a while for the full details of their trade to emerge, but the Thunder wound up parting ways with disgruntled point guard Reggie Jackson and the expiring contract of Kendrick Perkins, bringing back a crap ton of talent in return.
As a quick aside, Jackson was ecstatic to be leaving Oklahoma City:
Crying tears of joy #godisgreat
— Reggie Jackson (@Reggie_Jackson) February 19, 2015
Now, where were we?
Oh yeah, the trade…
Here’s how the deal unfolded, with the give and take of the situation coming courtesy of ESPN.com’s Royce Young and Brian Windhorst:
Detroit Pistons receive: Reggie Jackson
Oklahoma City Thunder receive: Enes Kanter, Steve Novak, Kyle Singler and D.J. Augustin
Utah Jazz receive: Kendrick Perkins, Grant Jerrett, the rights to Tibor Pleiss, a first-round pick (via Oklahoma City) and a second-round pick (via Detroit)
This is a pretty good haul for the Thunder, though that first-round pick stings a little bit.
The Jazz get a protected 2017 first round pick from the Thunder.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 20, 2015
Still, the Thunder swapped out talent they couldn’t use, for players they could.
Jackson is a ball-dominating point man with no jump shot, whose need for self-creating touches overlaps with the skill sets of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Dion Waiters. D.J. Augustin is a point guard who can shoot, on or off the ball, instantly making him a better fit than Jackson ever was. He can play alongside either Westbrook or Waiters (or both) without head coach Scott Brooks having to worry about the Thunder’s floor spacing evaporating completely.
Don’t sleep on the Steve Novak and Kyle Singler additions, either. Both are shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc this season, with Singler proving valuable as a catch-and-shoot gunner in Detroit. Though Novak has barely played this season, he’s one of the best pure shooters in the game; drive-and-kicks between Westbrook or Durant and himself would be deadly. This is all assuming the Thunder actually play him, which is possible, since they have the requisite defensive talent to cover up for his deficiencies on that end of the floor.
Kanter is, for better or worse, the primary prize here. He’s a No. 3 pick that’s started evolving into a stretch forward. He’s shooting just over 31.7 percent from deep, but again, his progression to the outside is only just beginning. Kanter also brings a low-post presence the Thunder don’t really have. They’re short on back-to-the-basket scorers. Not even Serge Ibaka is your typical work-from-the-block big man. Kanter can start in place of Steven Adams now, and serve as an offensive linchpin for the second unit once he returns.
All of which is good for the Thunder. They’re basically assured of the West’s eighth and final playoff spot now, especially with the Suns trading away Goran Dragic. Adding depth and additional, more complementary firepower makes them that much more dangerous.
But does it make them legitimate title contenders?
Not particularly. And for the first time all season, this has little to do with them.
Even if the Thunder finish the year on a tear, their postseason slot is set in stone. They’re going to finish in eighth place and face the Golden State Warriors. That’s unavoidable and, if you’re a Thunder fan, unfortunate.
Should they manage to upset Golden State, well, everything changes. A second-round matchup against one of the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets or Dallas Mavericks wouldn’t faze them. They match up pretty well with each of those teams now.
But before the Thunder can even think about the second round, before they can even think about contending for a title, they’ll have to get past the Warriors first. And that just isn’t going to happen.
