The Oklahoma City Thunder have a way of pulling big moves out of nowhere like a RKO finishing move.
The Dion Waiters trade is about the Thunder’s tomorrow
If you’re wondering why the Thunder would trade for Dion Waiters with a crowded backcourt already in place, you’re forgetting how they tend to operate.
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In 2011, the Thunder reached out to the Boston Celtics and exchanged fan favorite Jeff Green for Kendrick Perkins. In 2012, OKC shocked the world and traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and two first-round picks that would turn into Perry Jones and Steven Adams. On the first Monday of 2015, Thunder GM Sam Presti hit on 16 with the dealer showing a face card, sending Lance Thomas and a protected future first-round pick out to bring back the mercurial Dion Waiters.
In all three instances, the Thunder’s motives were the same: Stick to their philosophy.
The Thunder have decided they won’t let their top players who are possible free agents ever hit the market unrestricted. OKC’s dealings with Perkins were not only to fortify the frontline, but also to have an integral cog of the team locked up for the future at a cost it deemed manageable at the time. (Time has proven it wasn’t.) The Thunder’s game of chicken with Harden will forever hang over the franchise like a black cloud unless they win a title, but the reality is that Presti simply refused to be left with nothing if Harden walked in free agency.
By acquiring Waiters, the Thunder added an immediate contributor, but also gave themselves protection if they can't keep Reggie Jackson when he hits the free agent market. Waiters has an additional year on his rookie deal that keeps him under contract control until 2016. Jackson is a restricted free agent, but his desire to start and run his own team is an open secret around the league.
Presti just refuses to play the free agent market and makes these kinds of trades to avoid doing so. OKC’s first trade for Perkins is maybe a draw. The Harden trade is a sure loss.
This trade? Well ...
Thunder coach Scottie Brooks is excited about Waiters' ability to play both guard spots, scoring & toughness but uncertain when he reports.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 6, 2015 Kevin Durant says the Thunder will make Dion Waiters feel wanted, likes his toughness and believes he can be James Harden-like scoring-wise.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 6, 2015 Toughness is an understandably positive reaction, but the fit on the current roster isn't apparent. With Jackson, Andre Roberson, Anthony Morrow and Jeremy Lamb already fighting for minutes at the guard spots, where does Waiters fit? Worse, the thought of any Westbrook-Waiters-Durant lineup seems likely to end with a display of one-on-one wizardry or one of said three players sitting in the corner (likely Durant) playing Doodle Jump on his phone.
Of course, there is a way this works. The Thunder’s first title run showed the power of having a third facilitator alongside Westbrook and Durant. Waiters is not Harden and the expectations laid at his feet will be absurd the day he gets to OKC. But a dialed-in Waiters can be one of the scariest offensive threats in the league and his defensive improvement has gone unnoticed by many. If Waiters can find a way to buy into OKC’s scheme, he won’t have to be Harden. He can just be himself and help the Thunder emerge as the team no one wants to play in the playoffs.
But the reality is this trade is as much about the future as the present. Jackson is in line to be the next sacrificial lamb of OKC’s personnel philosophy, and another move is probably coming for the Thunder roster. They reportedly talked to the Nets about acquiring Brook Lopez and nearly traded Jackson in this Waiters deal. Oklahoma City has plenty of attractive trade pieces that could net another big man and shooter to flank the dynamic duo of Durant and Westbrook.
This is just how Sam Presti and the Thunder do business.
★★★
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