OKC Thunder December trade deadline series part 2 – Channing Frye

Next up in OKC Thunder deadline series is Channing Frye. The big man is one of the NBA’s most respected locker room voices and possesses a lethal 3-point shot.

Channing Frye is one of the real characters of the NBA, notorious for pranking team mates and calling out team mates in light-hearted fashion. In the clip below, Frye is calling out one of his Cleveland Cavaliers team mates for travelling during practice.

https://twitter.com/FOXSportsOH/status/1070398603028520961

All games aside, the former NBA champion can still play and contribute in spurts on a championship team. Sure his athleticism has waned to a stand still and he struggles to defend in open space but his ability to hit open triples at a high rate and spread the floor could be invaluable to an OKC Thunder team struggling to hit perimeter shots.

2018-19 stats

Points: 2.2
Assists 2.0
Rebounds: 0.2
Steals: 0.2
Field-goal percentage: 44.4
3-Point percentage: 60.0
Net Rating: minus-15.6

*Stats above courtesy of NBA.com

His statistical contributions must be treated carefully as Frye hardly see’s the floor. He’s only featured in five of Cleveland’s 23 games thus far and only managed 8.2 minutes in those contests. Frye is hitting 60 percent of his treys this season but its on one attempt per game and his minus-15.6 net rating, while horrible by all accounts, is on a no-defense, rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers squad.

One of Fry’s highlights this season came in Cleveland’s 113-89 win over the Charlotte Hornets. After being on-court for less than a minute, the big man hit a deep 3-point jumper off he feed from Collin Sexton. The Cavs bench went crazy and Frye received an ovation from the Q.

While its difficult to see Frye contributing as a regular rotation player, he does possess skills that could be of use to Oklahoma City.

Should the Thunder make a play for him, lets take a look at what he will bring to the Mid-West.