Andre Roberson entered restricted free agency with a confounding profile – arguably the NBA’s best defensive guard, but an atrocious shooter (especially on free throws) for a wing.
What’s the price point on a player like that?
It appears the Thunder found it.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Andre Roberson has agreed to a new three-year, $30M deal with Oklahoma City, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2017
Sam Amick of USA Today:
Can confirm Andre Roberson lands a 3-year, $30 million deal with OKC. No options, I'm told. ESPN first.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 6, 2017
Oklahoma City is now over the luxury-tax line, though the tax is assessed on the last day of the regular season. There’s plenty of time to duck it, though dumping players like Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler could require significant sweeteners.
Maybe the Thunder, with Russell Westbrook extension eligible and headed toward 2018 free agency otherwise, are actually willing to pay the tax.
No matter what comes next, this is a nice signing for Oklahoma City, which is already having a fantastic offseason by trading for Paul George and signing Patrick Patterson. The 25-year-old Roberson should maintain his defensive excellence over the next three years, and he and George will make a heck of a defensive tandem on the wing. George will also alleviate pressure on Roberson offensively, maybe even allowing Roberson to spend more time as a small-ball four.
The Thunder still badly need an upgrade at backup point guard, and this signing precludes using the bi-annual exception or more of the mid-level exception than allocated to Patterson, either of which would trigger a hard cap. A backup point guard will now come via minimum signing, trade or – gulp – once again relying on Semaj Christon.
