Revisiting OKC Thunder offseason and grading every move to date
By Aidan E
The underachiever:
After being relegated to the bench for most of the back half of the season, OKC agreed to a buyout with power forward Patrick Patterson.
In what became a failed free agent signing of 2017, Patterson was supposed to provide quality defense and an above-average 3-point shot. Unfortunately for him and OKC, things didn’t go the way they intended and he was benched for a majority of last season.
Patterson ended up giving 3.5 of his 5.7 million dollar salary up in his buyout agreement and was then stretched for three more years, leaving about $1 million on the books till 2022, per Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Related Story. Thunder buyout Patrick Patterson potentially making room for Kevin Hervey. light
This move gets OKC under the tax for the first time in forever and also frees up an additional roster spot. OKC could go in a variety of directions with this open spot. They could sign one of the remaining free agents (Kenneth Faried, Iman Shumpert) or sign one of the players who played for the OKC Blue this past season such as Kevin Hervey.
One million dollars per year is nothing to an NBA owner, and getting under the tax was vital to OKC management which is what makes this deal a success.