With the acquisition of Doug McDermott, the Oklahoma City Thunder have begun reshaping their roster.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti spent nine years building around Kevin Durant. It was clear that Durant was the face of the franchise and nothing would ever change that. That is until Durant decided to part ways with the Thunder.
Now that Durant is gone it is time to build a new team, a team around Russell Westbrook. At this trade deadline Sam Presti took his steps towards doing just that.
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Presti went out a made a trade that looks more like he is going for the now than he is going for the future. He traded away a young point guard in Cameron Payne (along with a couple expirings) for Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson. Gibson represents a veteran who can help the Thunder this season as Domantas Sabonis contines to grow. McDermott, on the other hand, is a player who the Thunder can build around for years to come.
The Thunder will have control over Doug McDermott until after the 2018-19 season. Once that time comes around McDermott will become a restricted free agent, something that Presti has shown to love. Restricted free agents give the Thunder the ability match any contract offered to him.
If McDermott finds success in OKC then it is hard to see them not doing anything to keep him around. The newest member of the team is exactly what they need: a small forward who can shot the three ball.
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For his career McDermott shoots around 40% from downtown. That kind of shooting ability will give the OKC the option of spacing the floor like they have not been able to do all season long. Russell Westbrook’s one weakness is the outside shot and McDermott will be able to counter that. Westbrook will fly to the rim, collapsing the defense, then he will pop it back out to a player like McDermott.
This is exactly what the team needs going forward. The current roster has too much of a reliance on the inside shooting game.
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McDermott is not the only player that the Thunder have added to help Westbrook’s future though. The first addition for their new future was a sneaky pickup that Presti had in his back pocket for years, Alex Abrines.
Abrines is only 23 years old and is looking like he could be a steal for the team. The Thunder rookie is shooting 38% from downtown this season. The potential that he is showing suggests he could be even better than that. In his first game starting last night Abrines was able to make a big splash going 5 of 11 from downtown.
Doug McDermott and Alex Abrines are two young players who have the ability to bring out the best of Westbrook. As this team continues to grow and adapt expect to see Presti bring in more players similar to them. If outside shooting really is the way of the future in the NBA then the Thunder have the best creator of outside shots in the game, Russell Westbrook. It might take a couple years but this team can develop the ability to win big.