Patrick Patterson Agrees with Thunder for 3 Years, $16.4 Million
Sam Presti found his floor-spacing power forward.
Quick question for you. What’s the biggest free agency signing in Thunder history?
It’s the one that took place on Tuesday.
Yes, Patrick Patterson’s deal, which should come in right at taxpayer mid-level exception money, is the biggest in Thunder history. That honor was previously held by Nenad Krstic, who’s best known for throwing a chair into a group of Greek players during an in-game brawl in Europe.
The most impactful signing the Thunder have made to this point was probably either Anthony Morrow or the corpse of Derek Fisher. It’s safe to say Patterson will make a bigger impact than both.
Patrick Patterson 2016–17 Stats:
6.8 points (40.1 field goal percentage, 37.2 3-point percentage), 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, .6 steals, .4 blocks
Fit:
As far as Patterson’s strengths, the main one is that he’s a good — if streaky — 3-point shooter. Last season, the Thunder had huge problems with spacing the floor. Their entire starting lineup in the second half of the year was composed of guys who weren’t good shooters from outside the arc, with the exception of the serviceable Victor Oladipo.
That’s not going to be the case this year.
With George and Patterson spacing the floor, the Thunder will have a much better chance of being comfortable in the paint. Adams was visibly bothered by having two or three defenders meet him in the paint last year, but with shooters spacing the floor around him in the pick-and-roll, he can feast off the same kind of Tyson Chandler-esque rim runs he used to get with Durant on the roster. As Jason Concepcion noted two seasons ago:
You can see that aspect of his game in evidence here:
Look at the way the floor is spaced there. With Dion Waiters in the corner, Andre Roberson in the dunker’s spot on the baseline, Westbrook out beyond the 3-point line and Durant running the pick-and-roll, Adams has a pretty clear lane to get to the hoop, even with Draymond Green playing free safety and leaving Waiters wide open.
You can easily picture Patterson in Waiters’s spot and Paul George in Durant’s. Those rim runs will be available again. In addition to that, Adams is a smarter player now, capable of punishing Green for leaving a guy open by making the extra pass if the route to the rim is blocked.
Look at what the Thunder’s spacing looked like this year when running a similar side pick-and-roll (timestamp 1:02):
It’s pretty easy to notice how far the Pelicans players are coming off the Thunder’s “shooters”. 4 guys have a foot in the paint, and the fifth is guarding Westbrook.
Adams has to catch in traffic and makes a tough, contested finish.
With Patterson and George spreading the floor, defenders won’t have the freedom to roam that they’ve used to punish the Thunder’s forays to the rim this year. Steven Adams and Russell Westbrook in particular, as guys who make their living in the paint, are going to really appreciate having a shooter that can’t be left open.
Patterson is a good defender, too. He doesn’t have numbers that jump off the page, and he’s not much of a shot blocker, but he moves well for his size and has good defensive IQ, working well within a team’s scheme. Watch him sniff out this kickout:
With Patterson on board, the Thunder have a gambling turnover creator, (Westbrook), two smothering perimeter defenders (Roberson and George, presuming Roberson is re-signed) and two smart, switchy bigs (Patterson and Adams). All but Patterson are solid rebounders. That lineup should be airtight.
Patterson’s not that versatile offensively, and he doesn’t rebound well. But with Westbrook and George next to him, he doesn’t have to be, and OKC’s a really good rebounding team that can afford to take a little bit of a ding.
And at $5 million and change a year? That’s an unbelievable steal. Patterson’s one of the better role-playing stretch fours out there, and this feels like a discount. Since the Thunder didn’t use their full MLE, they’re free to match Roberson without fear of running into the hard cap if they go into the tax.
Patrick Patterson is a solid pickup for the Thunder at a terrific price. Add one more feather to Sam Presti’s cap this offseason.
Grade: A
