2017 NBA free agency grades: OKC Thunder re-signing Nick Collison

The OKC Thunder will bring back Nick Collison, who has played his whole career for the franchise going back to their time in Seattle.

Nick Collison was a power forward that could shoot lights out when it came to the midrange game. For his career, he has shot 54 percent from two-point range. The Oklahoma City Thunder have decided to bring him back for one more year as a player that will mentor the next group of Thunder players.

Nick Collison was drafted out of Kansas in the 2003 NBA Draft. He was picked 12th overall by the then Seattle SuperSonics. Collison has been with the franchise for the whole ride. He was there when the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City and he has been with the organization for his whole career, which is 15 seasons.

Collison will join a list of great players like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki who have all played their whole NBA careers with one team.

When you hear the above statement, you don’t think that Collison would ever be in a list of those players. After all, he’s only averaged 6.0 points per game for his career. But Collison accepted his role as a mentor and has taken a step back from the action, deciding to teach the up-and-coming Thunder players.

In the NBA right now, Collison is tied as the fourth-longest tenured player with Udonis Haslem. Haslem is a similar player to Collison, a power forward with the ability to shoot a midrange jump shot. The players that are ahead of him are Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli.

Collison’s role now when he plays is being savvy on defense and having a great ability to pass for a big man. He has respect in the league still for his ability on the court. DeAndre Jordan said he was on of the toughest players that he ever matched up against:

"“I remember one time when we were playing in Oklahoma City and Nick came into the game. He came right up to me and — super politely — said, ‘Hey man, I’m just letting you know that my coach told me not to let you get any rebounds.’ Then he smiled. He was so damn respectful about it.“The rest of the night, every time the ball was at the rim, Nick was crashing into my legs with the hardest box-outs I’d ever felt. He was a man with one mission: to keep me from getting boards. Nick is not the tallest dude, but he’s relentless. He’s a hard, hard competitor. When I play him I know I’m gonna be sore in the morning because I gotta box this guy out every time — and I know he’s gonna box me out every time.”"

Collison has taken that hard work and dedication into his life without giving up or retiring when his role was diminished. The only reason this grade is so average is because Collison is taking up a roster spot. He won’t play a lot, so bringing him back is close to useless in terms of production on the court. What he means to the organization, however, is priceless.

He was there to see Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook win their MVPs. He has been there through it all in terms of the transition from Seattle to OKC, so it will be looked at as the end of an era for the Thunder after this year.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

Collison wants a ring and he has one season left to accomplish that. He is the ultimate team player and it would be great to see him win in the end and ride off into the sunset, unlikely though it may be.

Grade: C