What Mike Muscala Brings to the Thunder in Second Stint
After the trade deadline passed, it felt like Gordon Hayward's addition would be the end of Oklahoma City's moves. But waiving Aleksej Pokusevski opened up another roster spot, and Sam Presti capitalized.
He signed Bismack Biyombo off of the immediate buy-out market, giving the Thunder a potential bruiser that can play in short spurts. On Friday, he followed that up by adding a more viable big man option off the bench in fan favorite Mike Muscala.
Muscala is now 32 years old, but his game is ageless. He hasn't lost much since he last played in Oklahoma City. After bouncing around between the two worst teams in the NBA in Detroit and Washington, Muscala can once again contribute to winning basketball on-and-off the court.
He helped the Thunder in the down seasons and showed extreme gratitude and appreciation to the organization. Now he gets a chance to experience the highs with his former team.
The stretch-five gives Oklahoma City flexibility on the offensive end. On night's like Thursday's debacle against the Spurs, he would've been a great option to check in and knock down a few open triples. When the Thunder goes ice cold from 3-point range, Muscala's outside ability and rebounding prowess could really help the Thunder.
During his last season with the Thunder, the 2021 campaign, Muscala averaged 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14 minutes per game. He shot 42.9% from 3-point range and 84.2% from the free throw line.In 2020, he was even more reliable, scoring 9.7 points a night.
From Oklahoma City, he spent last season in Boston, where he averaged 5.9 points in 20 games to close the season. He played 16 minutes per game on a contender, and shot 38.5% from downtown.
Thunder fans shouldn't expect Muscala to be a heavy part of the rotation now that the talent on the roster has vastly improved and Oklahoma City is a contender. But he's more than capable of being a matchup-dependent player.
At the very least, it gives Mark Daigneault another option off the bench if he wants to mix things up. Muscala knows the system, can stretch the floor and will fight for rebounds. He's an instant fav-favorite once again and embodies the Thunder culture. This is about as good of a buyout addition you could have two months before the playoffs begin.
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