Oklahoma City Thunder: Breaking Down The Enes Kanter Addition

Even before the convincing 2012 Finals run, the Oklahoma City Thunder eyed the addition of an adroit big man.

Regardless of what the 2008 Finals (Boston vs. L.A.) tried to reveal, Kendrick Perkins never fit the description of an offensive option. At center for Oklahoma City since the 2010-11 season, Perkins has failed to shoot at least 50 percent from the field one time. Head coach Scott Brooks cut Perkins’ minutes and replaced him in the starting lineup for sophomore Steven Adams this season, primarily because Adams has been equally as effective offensively and much quicker on defense.

After four and a half seasons with the Thunder, Perkins was dealt to the Utah Jazz in exchange for 7-foot center, Enes Kanter. The entire package revolved around a 3-team trade between Oklahoma City, Utah, and Detroit. The Thunder acquired Kanter, Steve Novak, D.J. Augustin, and Kyle Singler. Utah received Perkins (who will be bought out), and two young prospects. Detroit received Reggie Jackson, who was fed up with his diminished role in Oklahoma City.

Of all eight players involved in the swap, there’s no question Kanter serves as the jackpot addition here.

This being his fourth season in the league, Kanter is only 22 years old and on the right track towards making a name for himself. His biggest weakness (defensive ability) drove Jazz supporters crazy, but he’s only maturing as a back-to-the-basket player and finisher around the rim. It was the classic case of a solid offensive center mixed with lamentable defensive skills.

This season, Kanter’s defensive real plus-minus has been laughable. 76 different players have been credited with playing center this year, and Kanter has ranked dead-last at a rating of -2.12. In comparison, Amar’e Stoudemire has developed the reputation of being a defensive liability, but yet he’s accumulated a rating of +0.14 this season. Al Jefferson shares the same image, and even he’s been better than Kanter with a rating of -0.63. Kanter is currently the only center to come close to a -2.0 defensive real plus-minus.

The biggest question that needs to be answered immediately is how Oklahoma City will manage without Perkins’ positive impact on defense. In 51 games, his defensive real plus-minus has been in the top 20 of all centers, at +2.18. With Perkins on the court (981 total minutes), the Thunder have kept opponents to an average offensive rating of 101.9. With him off the court (1,631 total minutes), the team has allowed opponents to have a 104.5 offensive rating. It’s just a 2.6 point difference per 100 possessions, but it matters in the grand scheme of things.

Regardless of the slight step back Scott Brooks could witness on defense, Kanter’s season should be able to give Oklahoma City bright lights of hope on the other end. It’s exactly what Kanter is:  a “score-first, worry about rebounding and defense later” type of big man.

In Utah, Kanter didn’t evolve into the post-heavy center people envisioned him to be in his early days. He didn’t get a lot of post-up action throughout games, as the emergence of Derrick Favors, a young sensation in Rudy Gobert, and a new coach (Quin Snyder) all stepped in Kanter’s way.

Nonetheless, he was potent with the chances he did receive:

Despite getting 1.8 post-up chances per game, Kanter makes the most of them by shooting 53.4 percent in those situations (per NBA.com). This plays into the basic law of percentages — a low amount of attempts could sky-rocket percentages if a player makes those shots — but there’s one thing to keep in mind. Who can really infer if Kanter gets more than 1.8 post-up attempts per game (perhaps more towards four), that his effectiveness would drop?

He has to be given the opportunity to play to his strengths. DeMarcus Cousins, widely regarded as the NBA’s most offensively dominant center, makes just 46.7 percent of his post-up chances. Still, Sacramento’s system rewards Cousins with more looks because they know that’s where he can hurt opposing teams. The Thunder could be in the same boat with this trade, since their overwhelming need has been a customary low-post scorer that can be reliable as the game speed slows down in the playoffs.

Brooks hasn’t been blessed with a center he can trust, and the same can be said for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Oklahoma City’s post-up field goal percentage hasn’t been ideal this year, ranking 22nd overall at just 43 percent. Since the team’s two superstars are aware there’s nobody superb in the middle, it’s resulted in an ugly, isolation-based offense for the last few years.

Only 6.7 percent of the Thunder’s offense comes from post-up situations, which ranks them 23rd. It’s not to claim every team needs to be post-up heavy (Golden State, Atlanta, and Dallas are all playoff teams that take even fewer post-ups than OKC), but it does go to show how much a team needs balance. Kanter supplies that on offense. Perkins doesn’t.

An area Kanter absolutely needs to improve on would be his attack off screen-rolls. Half-court offense is Utah’s bread and butter, and Kanter was solid in everything but making plays off the pick-and-roll.

As the “roll-man,” in such scenarios, Kanter didn’t capitalize once he caught the ball:

Per NBA.com and Synergy, Kanter had nearly the same amount of field goal attempts in screen-rolls as Marc Gasol. The difference is Gasol shoots nearly 10 percent better as a roll-man than Kanter, and 41.1 percent isn’t acceptable if you want to be taken seriously as a dominant big man. Playing for Utah, a team that has the second-highest frequency in roll-man shots (8.8 percent), Kanter should be a bit more efficient. He’s just been part of the problem, as the Jazz are also 27th in turnover frequency in pick-and-rolls.

Now alongside two of the strongest and most unstoppable rim-attackers in the game, Kanter will have his golden chance. As defenses are going to be sticking tighter on Durant and Westbrook off screen-rolls than they do Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke, it allows Kanter greater space and easier looks.

The reasoning for Thunder general manager Sam Presti to pull the trigger was the desperate need for balance. You can’t be completely star-based and one-dimensional and expect to dethrone four great teams in the playoffs. In the Western Conference, that statement get magnified, bolded, and circled.

Utah’s frontcourt usage has led the league this season, with 383.2 touches per game in the frontcourt alone. Down at 25th overall would be Oklahoma City, averaging just 291.4 per night. Adding an actual scorer that craves the ball and isn’t shy will likely boost the Thunder’s usage in the paint.

It’s unclear who Scott Brooks will elect to start when Kanter joins the team. The lineup of Westbrook-Roberson-Durant-Ibaka-Adams has started 23 games this season, going 15-8 in that stretch. The next two most-used starting lineups have a losing record (4-6 and 2-6).

If Kanter is eased in off the bench until he adapts to a completely different lifestyle — one with top five firepower — it shouldn’t be a concern. Kanter is due for a role change, especially after being out-played by Gobert in Utah for the last two months.

Oklahoma City tends to get large leads early in games due to their defensive identity within the first 12 minutes. Most of it is predicated on Adams being on the floor. Messing with a solid, proven formula isn’t the way to approach this. Fans will need to be patient.

For the first time this season, the Thunder climbed into a playoff slot with the win over Dallas on Thursday.

For the first time since last May, this team actually looks threatening again. Yes, Kanter invigorates their path to a long-awaited banner.