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Grading the OKC Thunder’s 2018 free agency moves so far

By Albert Dadson

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - APRIL 25: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder speaks with the media during a press conference after the game against the Utah Jazz in Game Five of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - APRIL 25: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder speaks with the media during a press conference after the game against the Utah Jazz in Game Five of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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So far, the OKC Thunder have made three agency signings. Two of them were their own players in Paul George and Jerami Grant, and one of them was former Mavericks center Nerlens Noel.

To kick off 2018 NBA free agency, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to retain Paul George and Jerami Grant while signing former Dallas Mavericks center Nerlens Noel. The OKC Thunder have been able to answer a lot of questions just in the first two days.

The Thunder needed a backup center to spell Steven Adams. Patrick Patterson and Jerami Grant were usually the ones that would back Adams up, but they needed a true center.

The Thunder will sign Noel to a two-year deal with a player option in year two on July 6. That’s when all deals can be finalized. Noel will come in and do what he does best — defend the rim. For his career, Noel has averaged 1.4 blocks per game.

The problem with Noel is that he has never played a complete 82-game season in his career. Noel only played 30 games last season after injuring his left thumb/wrist and sat out his true rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013-14 with an ACL tear.

He will help the Thunder defensively in their second unit and will get easy baskets on offense as a rim-running alley-oop threat. In the short time span that he played last year, Noel went 19-of-24 on dunk attempts. Of those dunk attempts, 18 were assisted.

Noel is an alley-oop waiting to happen and he can cut to the basket to get easy looks.

The Thunder will also bring Jerami Grant back on a three-year, $27 million deal.

Grant helps the Thunder in terms of his versatility. He has shown the ability to guard positions 1-5 and with an improved shot in the corner, can help the Thunder tremendously.

Grant shot just 27 percent from 3 in the corner, and 93 percent of those shots were assisted. If he is getting open in the corner, it is a shot that he will have to learn to make.

The Thunder did a good job by signing Jerami Grant because of the NBA’s development into a position-less league. The more versatile your players are, the more flexibility you have to do the things that you want to do on both ends of the floor.

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If you want to play fast against bigger opponents than you can do that with a guy like Grant. If you want to play more of an up-tempo style you can do that without sacrificing on the defensive end.

Grant will help the Thunder play fast on offense and defense, while still having the length and size needed to defend. He should start at power forward this season for the team, replacing Carmelo Anthony, but that feels like wishful thinking.

The first and most important agreement was that of Paul George. George will return on a four-year, $137 million deal.

George was the second-leading scorer on the team and he was the best player they had in terms of two-way play. George was also their second All-Star this season, making him the first Thunder player other than Russell Westbrook to make it to the All-Star game since Kevin Durant.

The Thunder seem to have a good team chemistry since Paul George decided to stay instead of going to the Los Angeles Lakers, which was what he originally intended for the 2018 offseason.

By George, Grant and Noel agreeing to sign all in two days, the Thunder answered big questions in a short amount of time in free agency.

Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

Grade: A

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