OKC Thunder In the news: Patterson’s social media opinion on former team causes stir

OKC Thunder forward Patrick Patterson was beloved in Toronto, until he took to social media recently.

Considering Patrick Patterson no longer plays for the Toronto Raptors the OKC Thunder power forward sure seems to still be tied to the 6ix.

Patterson hit social media twice recently with commentary on the Raptors. The first incident is somewhat debatable on what he was trying to accomplish.

As Game 4 of the Raptors – Cavaliers series was ongoing Patterson sent out two tweets. The first remarked on a play. Some thought he was referring to the Raptors play while others debated he was speaking of a similar action to something the Thunder ran.

The second tweet however, caused a major stir North of the Border.

https://twitter.com/pdpatt/status/993669335309746176

Patterson twitter timing wasn’t ideal:

Raptor Nation and Canadians immediately jumped on Patterson thinking he was throwing shade at his former team for being swept. A visit to Patrick Patterson’s twitter account and clicking on the tweet will provide access to the numerous responses sent his way. Again, fans of the OKC Thunder star took to his defense.

The problem with this second tweet isn’t quite as defensible. That’s due to the history behind the the frog and tea emojis. When LeBron James and his Cavaliers came back to win their title two years ago these emojis were used by the King himself.

LeBron even went so far as having a hat created with the two emojis on it. The frog (kermit) drinking tea is meant to symbolize throwing shade or being petty without taking the time to be verbose about it.

So, when Patterson posted this tweet as the Raptors were being swept, it’s hard for those in Toronto and Canada to view this meant anything else. Worse, Patterson was part of the Raptors squad who were swept in 2017 and failed to produce in that series.

Personally, I can’t speak to what Patterson was intending. What I can say, is he was beloved in Toronto and unlike players like DeMarre Carroll who also failed to deliver in the postseason was cut more slack because of his popularity.

Consequently, it’s fair to say this will likely end up turning a few of the Raptors faithful off. Furthermore, next season he might not get the same warm ovation he did on the OKC Thunder lone trip North this year.

Patterson opines on Casey firing:

Also adding fuel to the fire Patterson again took to social media to voice his opinion on Dwane Casey’s firing. Patterson posted two tweets on the firing. First of all, he agreed with Stephen A. Smith’s take that Casey didn’t deserve to be fired.

Patterson’s second tweet called Casey the sacrificial lamb.

Living in Toronto I can share Patterson isn’t alone in this take. The problem is while the Raptors have been the most successful Eastern Conference team over the past five seasons they haven’t translated that success in the playoffs.

Winning 59 games was a first for the franchise, but being swept by the Cavaliers occurred in back to back seasons. In Masai’s Ujiri press conference it was clear this wasn’t an easy decision and he was visibly upset.

But, there are two factors to take away from the firing. First of all, getting the top seed in the east is great, but not being able translate that success to the postseason has become unacceptable. The second factor has more to do with how the Raptors got swept. Although they are in the unenviable position of having to beat arguably the best in the game (LeBron James) they restructured their style and system to do precisely that. Game 4 the Cavaliers routed Toronto who appeared to give up. So, the thinking in Toronto is Casey lost the ability to get his team to fight. In fact, many felt that happened after the Game 1 loss.

GM Ujiri got fined in Game 3 for running onto the court at the half and screaming at the referees. This may also be a factor as Casey was unable to get the officials to review the flagrant foul elbow Kevin Love delivered in Game 1. Again, many felt Casey’s inability to get the refs attention throughout the series on questionable calls may have been a factor in his firing.

Donovan remains – Casey goes:

The interesting side note here is entering the season many felt the OKC Thunder would be among the teams vying to claim the top West spot. Most felt entering the playoffs the Thunder still stood a shot at getting to the NBA Finals. Despite losing Andre Roberson the Thunder still beat top squads after he went out injured.

Therefore, there were many (including here at TI) who thought the Thunder round one loss would result in Billy Donovan’s firing.  The fact Sam Presti elected to retain Donovan speaks to a few facts. Obviously, Paul George and Russell Westbrook both like the coach. This is probably a more relevant reason for retaining Donovan than the constancy issues Presti cited. After all, the Thunder are trying to re-sign George, so doing everything they can to make that happen makes sense.

As for Casey, the initial feedback is each of the assistants will be interviewed. This includes former OKC Thunder assistant Rex Kalamian who is well liked by the players. Nick Nurse is the other main assistant who is behind the revamped Raptors offense and will also get a shot.

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However, the man most want to end up taking the helm is Jerry Stackhouse. The former player led the Raptors 905 G-League team to the finals the past two seasons winning two years ago and coming in second this year.

The reason Stack is preferred (including by yours truly) is his main assets are defense and toughness. Those are the elements the Raptors were missing versus Cleveland. Ultimately, these two franchise decisions showcase the intricacies of how a franchise functions.

How will the 6ix receive OKC Thunder Patterson next season?

Patrick Patterson’s tweets represent his attachment to his former coach plus they share the common bond of attending Kentucky. It will be interesting to see how Patterson is received upon his return next season after his recent twitter commentary.

Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh all get resoundingly booed upon their returns. Conversely, players like Patterson, PJ Tucker, Jose Calderon, Cory Joseph and many more were loudly cheered. So, this situation is something new as Patterson has definitely lost a few fans over this situation.

One thing is guaranteed — the next time OKC comes to Toronto scan the crowd for signs as there are sure to be some frogs drinking tea in the crowd.