3 immediate benefits of Thunder signing veteran big Mike Muscala

Friday afternoon, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that the OKC Thunder were opting to reunite with an old and familiar friend.

Upon clearing waivers following his recent buyout agreement with the Detroit Pistons, the NBA Insider is reporting that veteran big man Mike Muscala "plans to sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the rest of the season."

With this move, Sam Presti has once again figured out a low-cost and highly strategic way to fill out his club's roster as they inch toward embarking on what is hoped to be a long and prosperous playoff run.

Benefits to Mike Muscala signing with the OKC Thunder

Though far from a star talent in the association, Muscala is a player who can provide a bevy of meaningful contributions to a team both with his play and sheer presence alone.

Following the news of his reunion with Oklahoma City, there appear to be a few key benefits that could immediately present themselves.

3. Frontcourt floor spacing waiting in the reserves

As both fans and the franchise both fully understand based on his previous four-year stint with the Thunder, Muscala is an incredibly reliable shooter from long-range.

For his career he sports a shooting clip of 37.6 from beyond the arc and, while with OKC, managed to bring this average up to a whopping 39.2 percent on 3.8 attempts per night.

While the team already boasts the best three-point shooting clip in the entire association at 39.9 percent, outside of Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams they currently roster no players measuring in at 6-foot-8 or taller who cash in on shots from distance at a clip greater than 33.3 percent.

Adding Muscala could not only help bolster their big-man shooting arsenal but, also, with his proven comfortability within the team's environment, help improve upon his current shooting clip that has him cashing in on just 31.8 percent of his attempts this year.

2. Adds much-needed size

Though the Thunder wound up striking on an impressive low-risk, high-reward deal at the February 8 trade cutoff that landed Gordon Hayward for a few role players and two future second-round picks, many fans came away from the deadline a bit underwhelmed by the fact that the front office didn't add any size to their rotation.

Aside from 7-foot-1 rookie phenom Chet Holmgren, OKC has a rather small regular rotation, with just two players total measuring in at 6-foot-10 or taller.

With this, many were hoping to see Sam Presti and company strike a trade for a size upgrade to add to their frontcourt arsenal though, as we all know, this wound up not being in their plans.

Fast forward about a month later, however, and we see that they've finally addressed this need without parting ways with anything in the process with this signing of Muscala.

Not only will his 6-foot-10 height and 7-foot wingspan provide the Thunder with much-needed vertical length, but his weight of 240 pounds also provides size on a horizontal level as well which, considering their primary "big" is Holmgren (195 pounds soaking wet), this could come to be a major plus when it comes to the increase in physical demand that the postseason often requires.

1. Veteran leadership

While the fact that they own a top-three record in the entire association alone makes 2023-24 unbelievably entertaining for the Oklahoma City fanbase, add this to the fact that the roster has an average age of just 24.12 and it makes their level of play all the more exciting to witness.

Of course, with this plus comes the clear minus that with lacking age comes lacking experience, as the Thunder currently have just four players on their active roster who have seen postseason action, with only Hayward playing minutes beyond round one.

Not only has Muscala seen six of his 11 seasons in the league advance into the playoffs, but twice has he been a part of a roster that's advanced to the Conference Finals, with his most recent appearance coming last year while serving as a member of the Boston Celtics.

Along with this, the 32-year-old has a track record of praising the Thunder organization for their "values" and the overall fandom that they've generated throughout the years, going as far as to say during his last stint with the organization that he'll "always be a Thunder fan."

It is this type of passion and affinity for the OKC Thunder that will be a huge bonus when battling through the uncharted territory for a majority of this roster that is the upcoming postseason and is something that will not only galvanize his teammates but the franchise's faithful followers as well.