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Views from OKC: Time to see how the trade worked out

By Tony Heim

Dec 21, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dances as New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) walks away during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Thunder defeated the Pelicans 121-110. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dances as New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) walks away during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Thunder defeated the Pelicans 121-110. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 17, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; U.S. Team center Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers (8) dunks the ball during the Rising Stars Challenge at Smoothie King Center. Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; U.S. Team center Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers (8) dunks the ball during the Rising Stars Challenge at Smoothie King Center. Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Welcome to Views from OKC, Thunderous Intentions’ daily roundup of the best OKC Thunder stories across the web.

New to Views? Glad to have you here, and I hope you’ll make this a daily destination. Well, let’s get started!

Thunder test out the Boogie and Brow

“Conversely, Oklahoma City’s freshly gained duo of Gibson and McDermott has paid immediate dividends. Minus practice time and a full understanding of OKC’s core concepts, the veteran duo combined for 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s lopsided victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.”

Sunday marks the first time Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson get to play with Oklahoma City with some understanding of the offense. We’ll get a better idea of how Billy Donovan plans on using both, especially if Victor Oladipo ends up playing. As good as DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are, the Pelicans just don’t have enough secondary players to beat the Thunder tonight.

Must Read: The benefits of the trade won’t be realized until April

Figuring out how McBuckets and Gibson fit on the team

“The Thunder have intently studied the way they play with Westbrook as the lone focal point, trying to understand what will complement him best: what kind of shots Westbrook creates most, what kind of players excel alongside him, what kind of offense is successful and what kind is not. Westbrook has a distinct style, and before they could find pieces, they wanted to try to understand how those pieces could fit in.”

Oklahoma City does not get enough credit for being one of the most forward-thinking franchises in the league. They hired Mr. Analytical Billy Donovan, they chase after players on rookie deals to maximize salaries…everything they do has hundreds and hundreds of hours of research behind it. Now they can build around one player in Russell Westbrook and it may be the best thing to happen to the OKC front office.

Views from Twitter

This is exactly what we need to be hearing. Gibson is going to be a free agent this offseason but if he enjoys his time in Oklahoma City it’s reasonable to think he will take a discount to stay. Shoutout Oklahoma City for helping the process immediately.

Keep doing things like this people. It is absolutely vital that Gibson is resigned this offseason.

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