Patterson was big plus for Raps
Oklahoma City got a deal if power forward can return to form
Unless you’re the type of basketball fan who only looks at basic stats, it was impossible not to do a double-take when the details of Patrick Patterson’s agreement in principle with the Oklahoma City Thunder broke.
In the real world, US$16.4 million over three years is a huge sum. In the NBA universe, it’s a mere pittance, especially when one considers how important Patterson was during the most successful run in Raptors history.
Patterson was supposed to be merely a moderately useful piece of the Rudy Gay salary dump to Sacramento years ago and, indeed, he never averaged more than eight points a game or 5.3 rebounds in a full season with the Raptors. He barely averaged a combined one block and steal, yet those numbers don’t do his contributions justice.
Because he was nearly always in the right position defensively and because he made smart decisions with the ball without turning it over often, Patterson was able to post consistently gaudy plus/minus marks, despite not ever doing any one single thing at an elite level (perhaps his defensive positioning could be considered elite).
The power forward trailed only Kyle Lowry in plus/minus in 2016-17 and led the club the prior season. He was second in 2014-15 behind Lou Williams. The club was 10 points better per 100 possessions in each of the past two seasons when Patterson was on the floor. Per colleague Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, Toronto was +1004 with Patterson on the court over the past three seasons, -38 when he sat.
He shot 37 per cent on three-pointers in Toronto, hitting 351 of his 411 career triples with the club.
Despite the gaudy advanced stats, Patterson wasn’t perfect. Some of his bigger misses on open three-pointers tended to stand out. He struggled as a defensive rebounder and a knee issue rendered him ineffective in the second half and the playoffs last season (which is the best reasoning we’ve heard as to why the Thunder got him so cheap, even if Patterson can opt out after two years).
He skipped his exit interview in May and clearly wasn’t thrilled about seeing his minutes cut down the stretch as his play fell off.
Overall, though, like Amir Johnson before him, Patterson was criminally underrated and a major reason why good things happened for the Raptors when he was in the lineup.
Regardless of whether he can get back to his old form with the Thunder, the Raptors now have a large hole at power forward, especially with P.J. Tucker taking his defensive talents to Houston. It’s difficult to see how they replace what that duo brought to the table.
Unless a deal can be found to unload some salary (DeMarre Carroll, Jonas Valanciunas and Cory Joseph) without salary coming back, the Raptors are too deep into the luxury tax to sign anyone of significance, barring some magic by Masai Ujiri and Co. similar to bringing in Bismack Biyombo and then Luis Scola later in the summer for peanuts a few years ago.
If the Raptors could find a way to get far enough under the tax apron (approximately US$125 million) to use the US$8.4 million non-tax-payer mid-level exception, they might be able to alleviate the departures of Patterson and Tucker at least a bit.
JaMychal Green (restricted free agent with Memphis), Toronto-born Kelly Olynyk (likely too expensive), Ersan Ilyasova, Terrence Jones, Marreese Speights and C.J. Miles look like some of the most useful available options.
Otherwise, sophomore Pascal Siakam and rookie OG Anunoby (out until at least November) will be tasked with contributing far sooner than expected.
Green logjam?
The signing of Gordon Hayward was clearly a coup for the Boston Celtics. Hayward is a talented swingman who can create his own shot, make plays for others, defend and do most other things well. Still, Boston is facing a future cap crunch once Isaiah Thomas signs an extension, which could force Avery Bradley and/or Marcus Smart out (Olynyk is already heading elsewhere to make room for Hayward).
There’s also the question of whether the team’s defence will be good enough if elite defenders Bradley or Jae Crowder see their minutes cut for Hayward. As well, the team just drafted Jaylen Brown (small forward) and Josh Jackson (combo forward) with consecutive No. 3 selections and Hayward plays about 35 minutes a night at one of the forward spots (30 per cent of that time was spent as a power forward last season, per basketball-reference.com).
Around the rim
The Miami Heat quietly announced the Chris Bosh saga is over. The team will retire his No. 1 jersey. Bosh is one of only nine players with 17,000 points, 7,500 rebounds and 300 made three-pointers. He was a crucial piece of Miami’s title teams and one of the best Raptors in franchise history, still owning many team marks … Nick Young and Omri Casspi are the latest players to join Golden State. Will the Warriors go with a 30-man roster? They might have to build a wall to keep ring-chasers from trying to join up with them.