OKC Thunder should consider signing Melbourne United forward Shawn Long
Should the OKC Thunder look deeper in the NBL and sign Shawn Long who is dominating the league.
The OKC Thunder signed Kevin Hervey to a two-way contract in an effort to shore up their forward depth with the spate of injuries and the recent suspension of Deonte Burton. Unfortunately, Hervey is still out with an ankle injury so he will not play for a little while.
The other factor to the thought process is that Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari is almost a lock to be traded. Signing another forward means that the Thunder are potentially able to be more creative for the package they can get back for him.
The reason Gallinari is getting traded as most fans would be aware of is that he has an expiring contract and has stated that he wants to play for a contender. Therefore it is so much better to get something back for him.
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Now, why would I suggest signing Shawn Long? Well, his is 6’9″ which is a good size for the league, He is a solid scorer, currently eighth in the NBL with 19.5 points per game, shooting at 56 percent from the floor. He does not shoot the 3-ball much but when he does he is hitting 33 percent.
Long is also very good at sniffing out a rebound, He is averaging 9.2 rebounds per game. This is good enough for second in the league. The only player above him is ex-NBA player Andrew Bogut who is only averaging 9.6 rebounds himself.
Long is also an excellent rim protector. His 1.5 blocks per game are also second in the NBL. Long is a top-level defender who could easily play alongside Nerlens Noel in the second unit. They would provide a wall that most second units would struggle to score against.
Next. Pacers offer perfect template for Thunder to emulate. dark
Long would be a decent contributor if signed by the team. He could sign a contract until the end of the season. The Thunder could then aggressively pursue another piece to the puzzle to form their future.