Thunder End of The Year Report Card: Gabriel Deck
An interesting late-season signing for Oklahoma City, Gabriel Deck quickly made his presence known.
The 6-foot-6 Argentinian forward provided valuable minutes for OKC, eventually signing a longterm contract before season's end.
Here is SI Thunder's report card for Deck:
Derek Parker's Grade: B
Despite a small sample size, Deck impressed for OKC this season.
In 10 games he averaged 8.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Deck does several things well; he has excellent post moves for a forward, can hold his own defensively and provided consistent scoring in his limited minutes for the Thunder.
His ranged shooting is raw, just 13 percent on 1.5 attempts per game.
With the direction of the franchise, not seeing Deck in a Thunder jersey again wouldn’t be totally surprising, but he proved he can be a valuable minute-getter in his short span with the team.
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Nick Crain's Grade: C+
Gabriel Deck didn’t have much of an expectation during his first stint with OKC. Going from playing overseas to joining the Thunder at the end of the season, it was expected that he would face a tough transition.
Through ten games with the team, Deck averaged 8.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 21.4 minutes per game. These were his first ten games as an NBA player, which is pretty impressive. However, considering the point in the season, Deck was given every opportunity to succeed.
With two seasons left on his contract, Deck has no guaranteed money remaining. Both seasons are non-guaranteed, meaning OKC can waive him up to a certain point and not owe anything. It’s likely that at some point, he’s used as salary filler in a larger deal or even moved to a contender for a second-round pick.
Either way, the 26-year-old deserves recognition for making his transition to the NBA look so seamless. He likely won’t have as much of an impact in the swing of a regular season, but only time will tell.
Ryan Chapman's Grade: B-
The late arriver to Oklahoma City, the Argentinian didn't make much of an impact after struggling to link up with the team.
But when he did play, he flashed a great self-awareness.
Not taking many 3-pointers, Deck showed off a whole host of post moves, smartly and efficiently getting to the bucket.
He also was a positive defensively for the Thunder coming off the bench. Immediately getting thrown into the fire agains the likes of Zion Williamson, Deck held his own without much time for adjustment to the NBA.
Time will tell for the 26-year-old, however, as more teams get eyes on him and work out how to defend Deck. He will likely have to develop his outside game a bit, but he built a promising foundation to build off of in his first run out with the Thunder.
