All season long this Thunder group has grinded it out, working hard hours to fight collectively for every inch on the floor. In the background, the Thunder’s front office staff has been doing the same: analyzing, watching and sorting through both its assessments of the team’s play but also players around the league.
As the Thunder re-organized its roster this offseason, General Manager and Executive Vice President Sam Presti described the 2016-17 campaign as a season of discovery. With the centerpiece of the team in Russell Westbrook, the Thunder had to find out which types of players best complemented their dynamic, incessantly energetic point guard.
On Thursday, just minutes before the NBA’s trade deadline, the Thunder pounced on an opportunity to bring in players that mesh with not just Westbrook’s skill set, but those of other core players like Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo. In a trade with the Chicago Bulls, the Thunder welcomed in veteran forward Taj Gibson and third-year guard Doug McDermott, along with a future second-round draft selection, from Cameron Payne, Joffrey Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow.
After thanking and commending the contributions those three former Thunder players gave to the team, Presti turned his attention to Gibson and McDermott, whose additions are causing a stir of excitement in Oklahoma City.
“We think they’ll be excellent fits with our team and in our organization with the type of guys that they are,” Presti said.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Gibson has started all 55 games for the Bulls this year while averaging 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. For all seven-plus seasons of his career, Gibson has been a stalwart on the defensive end for the Bulls, and brings in a wealth of postseason experience. Known as one of the most tenacious rebounders and defenders in the league, Gibson will bring an added punch to the Thunder frontline in addition to an experienced presence in the locker room.
“(Gibson) brings a physicality,” Presti began before extolling more of Gibson’s virtues. “He’s an excellent pick and roll defender and he’s one of the most respected competitors in the league at the front court position and is someone we’ve long admired and we’re excited to have walk the halls of our building.”
While the versatile Gibson can play alongside a variety of forwards and centers for the Thunder, McDermott provides the Thunder some welcome depth and shooting along the perimeter. At 6-foot-8 and 222 pounds, McDermott has the size to get to spots on the floor and shoot over smaller defenders. This season he’s averaged 10.2 points per game and for his career is a 39.9 percent three-point shooter. While his shooting will be vital, the Thunder also believes that the 25-year old can still make progress.
“McDermott obviously helps us space the floor,” Presti noted. “He can really shoot the basketball, especially from the corners. But he’s more than a stationary player. Part of our job will be trying to put him in positions to maximize himself.”
The addition of Gibson and McDermott make the Thunder a better team in this sense: the roster now has more balance, versatility and flexibility for Head Coach Billy Donovan to shuffle around as he sees fit. As the team makes its way towards a potential playoff berth, the Thunder will be looking not just to incorporate these two players into the roster and rotation, but also to continue growing as a group in the areas that have made the team successful thus far.
“One of the things we do want to always strive to do is sustain the success that we’ve had, not replicate it,” Presti explained. “This particular team with what they’ve tried to do from training camp to this point deserved the opportunity to try to maximize itself. I wanted to try to give this group every opportunity to learn how good they could be. We have a lot of opportunity in front of us to get better.”