Oklahoma City Thunder: The End of the Disappointing Jeremy Lamb Era

Jeremy Lamb is no longer a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder after being traded to the Charlotte Hornets for Luke Ridnour and a 2016 second round pick. Ridnour will be waived before the July 10 deadline or traded again, according to ESPN’s Royce Young.

The idea of Jeremy Lamb is something we all loved. A long, smooth offensive player with the ability to knock down open shots, but that Jeremy Lamb never materialized. Lamb never found a consistent role with the Thunder.

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The Thunder acquired Lamb from the Houston Rockets in 2012 in part of the James Harden mega deal. In the trade, the Thunder thought they were getting a cheaper replacement for Harden, but what they really got was a seemingly half-asleep inconsistent jump shooter.

In his time in Oklahoma City, Lamb averaged seven points per game on 34.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc in 15.7 minutes per game. He only started eight games in three years and only played at least 50 games in one of his three years in the Thunder blue.

So, what happened? For one, I am not sure former head coach Scott Brooks gave Lamb much of a chance to blossom. Brooks often yanked him quickly or would play him inconsistent minutes–some nights he would run a solid 20 or 25 minutes with the starters and other nights he would be regulated next to Perry Jones III for the game’s entirety. That can stunt a player’s development. It damages their confidence while also not giving them real game experience.

However, I can’t blame Brooks. Lamb often looked uninterested (that may not be fair, but seriously, he was a zombie on the court) and was a mess defensively–consistently losing his man in half court situations. The Thunder were championship contenders Lamb’s first two years and they didn’t have much time to get all the work Lamb may have needed to develop into that idea we all filled our heads with.

I wish the best for Lamb. Now he moves to team up with former college teammate Kemba Walker and the two will look to rekindle the flame that brought the 2011 national championship back to Storrs.

A look back at the best moment of Lamb’s career. (h/t Royce Young)

And I leave you with a Tweet that will surely cheer you up:

It’s draft night! Maybe the Thunder will find a player to who can be more than an idea and who will ALWAYS dap up Russ.

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