Why the OKC Thunder traded for Vincent Poirier

The OKC Thunder traded with the Boston Celtics for Vincent Poirier, lets look into the reason why they may have done this.

The OKC Thunder continue to overhaul their roster, making move after move since the trade moratorium was lifted prior to the 2020 NBA draft. The latest deal was to send a protected 2021 second-round pick for Vincent Poirier and cash considerations.

Poirier came late into the NBA at the age of 26, completing his rookie season with the Boston Celtics. He appeared in 22 games, averaging 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in only 5.9 minutes per game.

Poirier was also assigned to Boston’s G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws for four games. He showed a little more of what he was capable of, averaging 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, and 2.3 assists in 26.5 minutes per game.

Why the OKC Thunder traded for Vincent Poirier.

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While the team is currently going through a rebuild, the Thunder will be looking around at every team to see what talent is not hitting the court. Poirier was playing behind defensive specialist Daniel Theis and ex OKC Thunder favorite Enes Kanter.

He was playing on a win-now team so only received junk time minutes. It is very hard for a player to make a name for himself during this time. There is the potential that general manager Sam Presti wants to see what the 7’0″ center is capable of.

However, as the Thunder have Steven Adams, Al Horford, Mike Muscala, Omer Yurtseven, and Aleksej Pokusevski on their roster, adding another center seems a little excessive. Knowing Presti there is always an underlying motive for signing Poirier.

There is a good chance that Presti has a deal in mind for another player and he may have needed Poirier’s $2.6 million to make the salaries work. Interestingly, Poirier is the fifth highest-paid player on the Thunder roster with this salary.