Oklahoma City Thunder’s D.J. Augustin: Storm Chaser

Attitude And Chemistry

Kendrick Perkins was traded along with Reggie Jackson to make it work with the salary cap. Below is what Durant tweeted about Perkins leaving the team.

There was no such tweet about Jackson’s departure. In fact, Durant had this to say shortly after the trade deadline, from Royce Young for ESPN,

“We felt like everybody wanted to be here except for one guy,” he said.

Young expounds on the situation saying:

"On the surface, it seems as though the trade request Jackson’s agent made on Wednesday — first reported by Yahoo and confirmed by a source — was what frayed his relationship with Durant and some teammates. But his standing with teammates, primarily the leaders of the locker room, had been deteriorating throughout the season. The request simply hammered home what everyone in the organization knew since October: Reggie Jackson didn’t want to be there."

Basketball is not played in a vacuum devoid of interpersonal relationships. Sometimes it matters just as much who the players are as what they can do.

You can’t blame Reggie Jackson for wanting to start. He has put an enormous amount of work into making the NBA and becoming a starter. You also can’t help but think that Jackson’s final season in Oklahoma City, if it had to be his last, could have played out differently.

After Augustin’s strong performance in a starting role against the Lakers, he gave credit to his teammates for helping him get acclimated quickly. From Darnell Mayberry for NewsOK:

“I’m surrounded by great players who know the game,” Augustin said. “So they make it easy for me to transition onto this team. They’re smart, they know where to go on the floor and we just clicked together right away.”

Contrast that mentality with Jackson’s statement while with the Thunder via Royce Young of ESPN:

“I’m just trying to fill my role while I’m here.”

Not exactly the same approach. Jackson didn’t pull an Andrew Bynum and start shooting from whatever part of the court he got the ball, but the disconnect between him and the team was no secret and it was evident at times during games as well.

There is no such distraction with Augustin and that difference alone gives him a huge edge when comparing him to Jackson’s impact on the team. When asked about coming up short of a triple-double starting in place of the injured Westbrook, Augustin respond in a team oriented fashion. From Mayberry:

“I tried,” Augustin said, smiling. “But we got the win and that’s all that matters for me.”

Wins are what matter to Augustin. Not starting roles or leading his own team. He has shown that he is capable of those things, but that is not the ultimate goal. Augustin seems content to be a storm chaser, especially if that means chasing them all the way to the Finals.

Next: 25 Most Dominant Individual Games In NBA History

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