Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 reasons Nerlens Noel is a good risk

2. The risk/reward ratio

With any signing, there will be risk involved. You never know how things will play out when a player goes to a new team. Sometimes you just have to make the best decision you can with the information you have, and then sit back and hope for the best. In this case, the potential reward far outweighs the risk.

Agreeing to sign Nerlens Noel is a smart gamble for the Thunder because they have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. The worst-case scenario is that Noel is ineffective and falls out of the rotation. In this case, they will only lose the minimum salary on him – making this the lowest-risk kind of deal possible.

However, if Noel performs well, signing him will prove to be a genius move. If he can play 20 minutes off the bench for his new team and average somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 points, eight rebounds, one steal and one block, then he becomes a player worth much more than the veteran minimum.

Even if Noel can’t get it going so much on the offensive end, he will still have a place in the Thunder rotation due to his defense. His ability to play on both ends of the court acts as a sort of fail-safe. He would have to be really terrible to fall out of the rotation in Oklahoma City, so the smart money is on a good season for the new addition.