Well fans alway seem to beg for a trade. Fans want that block buster deal that leads off the Sports Center hour and takes their team to the next level. The Thunder fans may have finally got their wish.
Going into today the Thunder essentially only had to offer a disgruntled talented back up point guard, a huge expiring contract, and some young talent that never panned out. Oh. And some Sam Presti Magic.
The Thunder were rumored for most of the entire day to be sending Reggie Jackson and Kendrick Perkins to the Brooklyn Nets for the prized white horse of Brooke Lopez. The trade looked almost emanate all day today until about an hour before the dead line. Then we heard the city of Detroit get involved.
The Thunder ended up in a 3 team trade, shipping not only Reggie Jackson away to Detroit but also Kendrick Perkins and Grant Jerrett to the Utah Jazz. This along with a protected first round to Utah. The Thunder made a haul in players in return.
The first name to know is Enes Kanter the Center out of Kentucky. Kanter was the number 3 selection in the 2011 NBA Draft. He has played all 3 of his pro years at Utah and is currently 22 years old. Averaging 13 points and 7 rebounds Kanter has been seen in most NBA circles as a very promising center. He is originally from Switzerland but graduated high school in California. He stands at 6 feet 11 inches.
The next new name is Kyle Singler or how most sports fans know him as the former Duke Blue Devil. Singler was a second round choice in the 2011 draft and has been seeing a lot of quality minutes in Detroit this season. Singler is only averging 7 points a game on the year but is shooting 40% from the 3 point line this year. Singler just adding quality depth to now what might be the best bench in the NBA.
DJ Augustin might be the steal of this trade in my humble opinion. Former Kevin Durant point guard at Texas Augustin is a known quality back up around the league. He has been starting in place of injured Brandon Jennings and has shown, like his days in Chicago, he a real quality talent. In his last 10 games DJ Augustin is averaging 20 points and 8 assists. He is also shooting a shade under 40% from deep. We may see Augustin as the long term back up point guard solution if he continues to produce with the minutes he will get in OKC.
Last in the trade we have Steve Novak. The 3 point specialist has been hopping around the league in the past few years and it isn't clear if OKC is really his final resting spot this year. Most NBA insiders assume he will be waived sometime soon but none the less if the Thunder do decide to leave him on the active roster bringing in a career 3 point sniper and a very well respected veteran is never going to be a bad thing. He has seen time in Houston, Clippers, Dallas, San Antonio, New York, Toronto, and finally Utah. Who knows though, maybe OKC is Novak's resting place.
Needless to say, it has been a heck of a trade deadline for the Thunder and only time will tell if shipping away older veterans, Perkins, for new youth, Kanter, and bringing in people who are comfortable in their roles like Augustin as opposed to frustrated talent like Jackson will really pan out in the Thunders favor. One thing we did learn for sure today is that of all the things we had, Sam Presti Magic seemed to be the most valuable.
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