Thunder in the news: Welcome to OKC Patrick Patterson
By Tony Heim
Thunder in the news is the one-stop shop for OKC Thunder fans looking to get their daily fix.
Unlike last year, July 4th was fantastic. And that was even before the Patrick Patterson signing. Now with Patterson in the fold the Thunder appear to have a formidable roster out West. One or two moves need to be made, but the recipe is their for something special.
Patrick Patterson signs a three year deal
As always there weren’t rumors about the Thunder having interest in Patterson. When Woj dropped his bomb none of that mattered. Oklahoma City got Patterson on an absolute steal of a contract, but you can read more about that here.
"It’s been one year since the Thunder lost Kevin Durant and they have done an incredible job retooling the roster and reemerging as fringe contenders in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City shocked everybody when it pulled off a trade for Paul George mere hours before free agency kicked off and now it’s building a roster around him and Russell Westbrook to make a run.OKC agreed to a three-year, $16.4 million contract with Patrick Patterson on Tuesday. The final year of the deal reportedly includes a player option, giving Patterson an out if the two stars bolt following next season. He’s currently expected to be a starter and will shore up what was arguably the Thunder’s weakest position last season."
What the move means for Oklahoma City’s cap
Sam Presti has been making modifications to the roster with little cap space to work with. It’s truly been remarkable. Erik Horne and Brett Dawson from The Oklahoman did an awesome job explaining what this means for the Thunder cap as well as any future moves.
"The Thunder is over the $99 million salary cap, but had a mid-level exception to use on a free agent which wouldn’t count against the cap. Since the Thunder will pay Patterson the taxpayer mid-level exception which averages to $5.2 million per season rather than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $8.4 million, the team avoids a hard cap. Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, when a team is “hard capped,” it cannot exceed the tax apron ($125.6 million) under any circumstance."
What the move means on the basketball court
We know the contract is great, but what about the fit on the hardwood? It turns out that may be the best aspect of the deal. Thunderous Intentions’ extraordinaire Tamberlyn Richardson details how the former Raptor will be the perfect stretch 4 for OKC.
"But, his true benefit is his defensive prowess. Patrick Patterson possesses an extremely high basketball I.Q. Often the intangibles he brings to the court don’t show up on stat sheets. If you’ve watched many Raptors games, you’re probably well aware of Patterson’s plight. That’s because he’s been tasked with covering up Jonas Valanciunas’ short comings on defense. In fact, the Raptors are said to be shopping JV, likely because Serge Ibaka and Tucker echoed those sentiments.Sure, Patterson hasn’t been a huge rim protector or rebounder these past 3.5 seasons. None-the-less what he does provide is stellar. Plus, while he was covering up for JV’s inability to defend the pick and roll he made his opponent’s lives miserable. Specifically, the players Patterson guarded shot 6.9 percent worse against him. And, mark my words, in the final 5 minutes he’ll get you the key block or rebound which results in the victory."
Happy July 5th everyone. It’s a great day to be a Thunder fan.