Just a day after losing power forward Taj Gibson, the Oklahoma City Thunder regroup and bring in veteran big man Patrick Patterson.
Late Tuesday evening, ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Oklahoma City Thunder signed power forward Patrick Patterson to a three-year, 16.4 million dollar deal, with a third year player option. The report was later confirmed by The Oklahoman‘s Erik Horne.
Free agent forward Patrick Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $16.4M deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2017
Can confirm Thunder has agreed to deal with Patrick Patterson. A catch-and-shoot big with 3-point range, defensive versatility.
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) July 5, 2017
The Norman Transcript‘s Fed Katz broke down how Patterson’s contract will work.
Patterson's starting salary will be $5.19M. He'll make $5.45M in year 2. The player option is for $5.71M.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) July 5, 2017
Patterson’s Bio:
Patterson, 28, will be entering his eighth season in the NBA. The 14th pick by Houston in the 2010 NBA draft, Patterson spent three and a half seasons with the Rockets before being dealt to the Sacramento Kings. A season later, Patterson was traded by Sacramento to the Toronto Raptors, where he spent the past three and a half seasons.
In seven seasons, Patterson’s career numbers are 7.9 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.
First of all, the Thunder has long had an eye on Patterson. Consequently, while looking to trade Serge Ibaka, one potential team was the Toronto Raptors. Patterson would have been included in the package, before Ibaka was ultimately shipped to Orlando.
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Logical Fit:
Patterson already has somewhat of a relationship with Head Coach Billy Donovan. While Donovan was at Florida, he heavily recruited Patterson, who ultimately went to Kentucky.
Arguably Patterson best skill that can help the Thunder is his three-point shooting. He shot 37.2 percent from three last season, which would have been third on the Thunder. He also shot 41 percent from the corners.
Fun Fact: Patterson is General Manager Sam Presti’s biggest free agent signing financially from another team. The previous high was Nenad Kristic at 15.8 million all the way back in 2008.
Grade: A
Patterson is the perfect power forward for this team. He is a quality defender who can stretch the floor. He’s not going to be asked to play major minutes, but is more than capable of doing so. He’s an experienced playoff vet, with 41 postseason games under his belt. He can be used as a power forward or a small-ball center. Overall, this is a low-risk high reward trade. Sam Presti is continuing to have one heck of a summer.