The Oklahoma City Thunder made their first splash in free agency on opening day, agreeing to terms with forward Kyle Singler on a five-year deal worth $25 million. The final year of the deal is a team option, according to ESPN’s Royce Young.
My first impression of the deal was that five years is a long time to wrap up in a role player, but grabbing Singler in this market for $5 million per year is a steal.
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Thunder fans may not feel the same way about it from his time in Oklahoma City, and understandably so.
In 26 games (he started 18) for the Thunder, Singler averaged 3.7 points per game on 33.3 percent shooting from the field. He did shoot a solid 37 percent from beyond the arc, but Singler never looked confident in his role with the Thunder last season. It was not an ideal situation–coming to an injury-riddled team trying to make the playoffs in a brutal Western Conference.
Singler was thrust into a role, had no time to get comfortable and it showed. The Thunder did not offer Singler this contract based on those 26 games. His previous line of work makes the deal easier to dissect.
In 244 games before his arrival in Oklahoma City, Singler averaged 8.1 points per game while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and nearly 38 percent from beyond the arc. In 54 games with Detroit last season, Singler shot 40.6 percent from the field on 187 attempts.
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At 6-foot-8, Singler can play both the 3 and 4 position. The Thunder will mostly use him as a 3 because he is not strong enough to bang with most 4s. Playing him at the 3 at times with Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka filling out the front line gives the Thunder a long, disruptive frontcourt on defense that also provides lethal shooting and spacing on the other end.
Singler is a really good shooter, especially from the corners, a spot he will find himself often in over the next five years. Last season he connected on 42 percent of his corner three-point attempts. The ability of Russell Westbrook and Durant to dismantle opposing defense off the dribble will force help and give Singler open looks.
That bodes well for Singler and the Thunder. Over the last two seasons he shot 40.5 percent on catch and shoot threes, according to NBA.com.
Singler is the type of role players all contender have. He is a smart player that is not going to take anything off the table, but he will provide with his shooting. With how smart the league has gotten and the salary cap jump to come, players like Singler aren’t floating around at $5 million a year. Sure, five years may not be ideal, but it is not hurting the Thunder’s pockets.
Again, with the cap set to jump, the Thunder essentially just signed Singler to a deal paying him about $3.75 million a year.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) July 1, 2015
The next decision for the Thunder will be what to do with big man Enes Kanter, who they reportedly want to bring back, but for now, Singler is their first move of free agency and a good one. Remember there is more to Singler’s game than those 26 you saw last year.
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