The curious case of Andre Roberson
By Joshua Lea
The OKC Thunder are the biggest surprise of the NBA offseason. The roster moves they’ve made is fueling their fire for next season, but is Andre Roberson in the plans?
The Oklahoma City Thunder are balling on a budget this offseason. They brought in Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. They also signed Raptors forward Patrick Patterson on a three-year $16 million deal. Pairing these two players with Russell Westbrook, Steven Adams, and Andre Roberson could mean trouble for the rest of the NBA.
Except that Andre Roberson is a restricted free agent. Oklahoma City can match any offer made by any team to Roberson, much like when OKC matched Portland’s offer to Enes Kanter in 2015. However, the question now becomes, do the Thunder need to bring Roberson back?
The native of New Mexico has undoubtedly been the anchor of the Oklahoma City Thunder defense. His defensive plus-minus was 2.1 last season. In fact, Roberson had a career-high 94 steals last season. The NBA All-Defense Second Team honoree certainly made his case to be on the First Team last season. However, we all worry about his offense.
Roberson still made himself useful in the Thunder offense through a series of backdoor cuts and scoring at the rim. While his three-point shooting needs work, he did shoot 46% from the floor. Roberson also stepped up during the playoffs against the Houston Rockets, scoring 18 points on 7-10 shooting in Game One. Roberson was also charged with the task of defending James Harden. A task he performed quite well despite the outcome of that series.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder need Roberson as much as Roberson needs the Thunder. Roberson is starting to turn a page in coach Billy Donovan’s system. While other teams may think that guarding Roberson is a waste of time, his use of the backdoor cut can punish defenses with quick and easy scoring.
If Roberson returns to OKC, the starting five could be one of the most efficient in the NBA. Roberson, Patterson, and Adams’ defense would be comparable to the early days of the Memphis Grizzlies grindhouse style. That, combined with the offense of George and Westbrook would make for a team capable of competing for an NBA Finals appearance.
First things first, OKC needs to re-sign Roberson. Roberson is going to be the key to the Thunder’s success. His defense on the NBA’s elite scoring guards will determine the Thunder’s fate next season. Expect for Roberson to remain with the Thunder next season and watch as this team takes a big step towards the top of the Western Conference.
Also, I wouldn’t rush to think the Thunder are going to trade Enes Kanter. Although his name always appears to be on the trading block, Kanter provides locker-room chemistry. It’s no secret that Kanter and Adam’s are buddies; Kanter is also really close with Westbrook.
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Many people have dissected Westbrooks MVP speech. He brought up Nick Collison, Roberson, Kanter and former Thunder player Taj Gibson. Some thought that Russ was saying goodbye to these four players. However, we will never really know if that is the actual case. What we do know is Kanter is a 100% Thunder guy. If there’s one thing Sam Presti loves (especially now) is loyalty. I would expect for both Roberson and Kanter to dawn Thunder uniforms next season.
Kanter’s bench scoring is undervalued for OKC. Kanter’s low-post presence gives the Thunder a different scoring option off the bench. Last season, Kanter posted a 54% shooting percentage from the floor. Westbrook has referred to Kanter as the best 6th man in the NBA several times. Still, the area of concern for Kanter is his defense.
Kanter will likely be playing the post with Jerami Grant more next season. Meaning Kanter will likely play the five position. Grant is more of a stretch four, which could be beneficial for Kanter on the offensive and defensive end.
One thing is for sure, the Thunder could have a deep playoff run next season.