With Terrance Ferguson playing exceptional basketball this season, the OKC Thunder must decide what to do with Andre Roberson when he returns from injury.
The OKC Thunder are in a tough spot. With Terrance Ferguson ascending to be the teams future three and D wing at age 20, many are ready to move on from Andre Roberson or relegate him to a bench role.
What is Oklahoma City going to do?
The Thunder has three options:
- trade Dre before the deadline
- move him to the second-unit
- start him over Ferg provided he’s healthy
Roberson averages 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds on 48.2 percent shooting for his career and 25.4 percent from three. Despite his low averages, Dre is widely regarded as one of the leagues elite perimeter defenders, posing problems for the likes of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and James Harden.
Let’s take a quick look at the three options.
Trade Dre before the deadline
A trade is extremely unlikely for two reasons – Roberson is still recovering from the torn patellar tendon he suffered against Detroit last year and the organization love what he brings to the team.
Since undergoing successful surgery on January, 28th last year, Roberson has overcome two setbacks and continues to rehab. The team expects to have him back this season but have said he is still some time away from returning.
Billy Donovan says Andre Roberson is not anywhere close to playing. Still rehabbing. But says the Thunder are optimistic they’ll have him back this season.
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) January 14, 2019
Teams don’t look to acquire broken players and that’s what Robes is at the moment. Until he returns to action by the February deadline and shows he’s near full strength, no team will be interested in taking him.
The other aspect is his relationship with stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Both are very close with Dre, desperately wanting him back to cover their defensive lapses and provide rest to PG13. Additionally, ARob is a fantastic locker room guy beloved by the franchise and its players. The locker room is one of the most underrated aspects of a basketball team and OKC has done a great job of meshing the right players together.
These two reasons make it extremely unlikely he is moved by the deadline.
Roberson goes to the bench
Many have criticized the second unit’s inability to defend, claiming the benches defense is the reason why Oklahoma City get burned when the starters sit.
It’s actually a scheme issue, not a personal problem.
OKC find itself in trouble on one and done possessions particularly if Dennis Schroder misses a bunch of shots early. The German is prone to stretches of tunnel vision, seeing nothing but the hoop pulling the trigger at every opportunity. If Dre goes to the bench, it doesn’t actually fix the problem.
In order for Oklahoma City to maximize the talent on its second unit, Schroder needs to find a better balance between scoring and moving the ball. Dre moves the ball fantastically well but falters badly on offense if he’s required to shoot from the perimeter.
Roberson is an exceptional cutter and needs to be utilized in pick and roll sets. With Nerlens Noel already clogging the lane, it makes little sense to play him with the bench. Terrance Ferguson is showing signs of offense off the dribble thus it makes more sense to move him to the bench.
insert Dre back into the starters
This scenario only happens if ARob returns back to full health. Roberson is a defensive wizard and one of the best perimeter defenders this league has to offer. He is disciplined, smart and offers Oklahoma City experience in big moments against opposing stars. Dre is universally recognized as the James Harden-whisperer as he is one of few defenders who pose the Houston Rockets problems.
When Roberson went down last season, the entire Thunder team dropped confidence. He is the glue-guy, a blue-collar player who does all the dirty work. He is bigger, stronger and possesses more defensive nous than Ferguson at this stage. PG13 especially loves Dre as he allows him to get a breather on defense. For this reason alone, Dre will find himself with the starters again.
While TFerg has emerged as a fantastic defender, he is still just 20 years old and prone to foul trouble. The sophomore wing is shooting an astounding 43.8 percent from deep since December 1st but is still too skinny and gets bullied on the block by decent post players. Ferguson is athletically gifted and can get to any spot he wants on the floor.
However, he is yet to show he can be trusted not fouling in big moments. He has played extremely well this season and has certainly earned his spot as a starter but he is still just 20 years of age. Time is on his side.
Can OKC play both?
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There is a vision where Oklahoma City can play both except Dre will find himself playing more power forward. A natural four in college, Dre’s ability to roll to the hoop and move off the ball allows him to be effective in OKC’s isolation-heavy offense. A line-up of Russ, TFerg, PG13, Dre, and Grant is an intriguing defensive unit.
Either way, it’s a great problem to have. Roberson has coached TFerg into being a great perimeter defender and having two elite defenders on the edges is salivating. With the Thunder needing to get through Golden State to get to the finals, having Dre and Ferguson is a tremendous advantage.
When the time comes though, OKC must make a decision on what they are going to.