NBA Trade Grades: Thunder Get Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott From Chicago
By Phil Watson
The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott from the Chicago Bulls and we’re here with some NBA trade grades.
The NBA trade deadline was nearing when the Oklahoma City Thunder landed a pair of forwards from the Chicago Bulls in a five-player swap in what appears to be a massively one-sided deal.
As first reported by Shams Charania of The Vertical, the Thunder acquired veteran Taj Gibson along with Doug McDermott from the Bulls.
Going the other way are point guard Cameron Payne, center Joffrey Lauvergne, wing Anthony Morrow and a 2018 second-round pick.
The Bulls had been shopping Gibson, who turns 32 in June and is on an expiring contract, but McDermott came as a bit of a surprise–as Nikola Mirotic had been the third-year forward on the trade block for most of the season.
The Thunder add some grit in Gibson and some much needed offensive punch in McDermott while not giving up much other than a young point guard with some potential in Payne.
Morrow has struggled with his shooting much of the season–not good when one’s specialty is shooting–and Lauvergne was never more than a spare part.
So how did each side fare? Let’s sort it out with some NBA Trade Grades.