Round Table Discussion: OKC Thunder at the NBA Trade Deadline

Jan 18, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Regardless whether the Thunder make a trade or not, should Scott Brooks make a change to the starting lineup?

Livingston: Should he? Yeah it’d be awesome if Dion Waiters started. Will he? No way. This is stubborn Scotty Brooks. I’m sorry but at this point it’s just not going to happen. Until the Thunder are on the brink of elimination in the playoffs, Brooks isn’t going to make a change, even if Waiters is the most natural fit to start at shooting guard alongside Westbrook.

Van Sant: Brooks should make no changes to the current Thunder starting lineup. The only player who could possibly be replaced is Andre Roberson, and he has substantially improved his shot from beyond the arc, shooting 61.1% in the month of January as well as continuing to play his signature lockdown defense. Roberson starting also allows OKC to have a surplus of offensive firepower coming off the bench, whether it be Jackson, Waiters, Morrow, or even the emerging Mitch McGary. The Thunder have found their rhythm with this lineup, and as the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Collums: No and Yes. Roberson has shown his worth defensively when he actually plays like he has seen a basketball. Many of the times that Roberson gets criticized is when he doesn’t score in a loss. However, much of the team usually performs poorly as well and it is unfair to overly criticize Roberson for it. He contributes greatly on defense, which can’t be said for many other guards outside of Westbrook on the Thunder’s roster. Perkins on the other hand should be switched out for McGary. McGary has shown his skillset already and he is worlds more athletic than Perkins (see: Perkins dunks attempts).

Lambert: This all depends on who, if anyone, they acquire in a trade. Recent reports link OKC to Aaron Afflalo. If that deal happens, and I really don’t think it will, Afflalo has to be the starter over Roberson. This would essentially end Roberson’s season because he’s not coming off the bench over Waiters or Morrow to play the two or three position, which is why I don’t buy into the talks in the first place. It makes no sense to trade for Afflalo when OKC already has three shooting guards who need minutes. When the team is healthy, the starting line-up is fine.

Stephens: I don’t believe that  Brooks should make a change to the starting line-up if no trades are made. The starting line-up has worked for the most part. With Roberson being the defensive specialist and either Perkins or Adams being the formidable defensive and rebounding center. But if OKC does squire a player like Lopez or Afflalo then I feel that Brooks would be forced to make a change for the acquired player. He can not afford to let a talent like either one of those sit on the bench to start the game. So it really depends if a trade is made or not.

Fielder: I’ve written on this a little bit already and my opinion is still largely the same. We’ve seen a slight uptick of late in Roberson’s shooting but I still think Brooks needs to pull the trigger and insert Waiters into the starting lineup. Waiters and Jackson make for an ineffecient pairing off the bench, seeing as neither one is particularly good as an off-the-ball creator. Waiters, however, has shown that he pairs quite nicely with Westbrook in the backcourt as demonstrated by his stellar play in the starting lineup during Durant’s most recent injury break. Waiters is also a strong enough on-ball defender that the dip from Roberson isn’t nearly as great as one would expect. Granted, if the Thunder were to acquire a wing player such as Chandler or Afflalo, that would totally change how the Thunder should approach the starting lineup.

Riggs: A few weeks ago I would have said yes, but Roberson has shown his value in the last few weeks. He is back to playing great defense, and has shown an improved three-point shot, shooting 38 percent in 2015. However, if Roberson is getting torched on defense, Brooks should not hesitate to take him out and insert Waiters. I am not advocating playing Roberson more than 20 minutes most nights, but his defense could be valuable come playoff time, and the best way to ensure the Thunder have that at their disposal is to keep him in the lineup and continue to build his confidence.