The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to sign unrestricted free agent power forward Patrick Patterson to a contract worth $16.4 million over three years. The contract cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 6th.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news Tuesday night:
Free agent forward Patrick Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $16.4M deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2017
Patrick Patterson Agrees to Three-Year Contract With Oklahoma City Thunder
Patterson’s contract will take him through the end of the 2019-20 season. He has a player option for the third season, meaning that Patterson could choose to opt out and become a free agent again in the 2019 off-season.
Patterson averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game last season for the Toronto Raptors. However, Patterson’s game has seemingly plateaued, showing little improvement over the last two seasons. He struggled with the consistency of his three-point shooting at times throughout the 2016-17 season. However, Patterson’s improvements at the defensive end were evident. The Raptors often ran line-ups where Patterson was relied upon to play the center position. The Thunder know what they are getting in Patterson’s game.
Looking forward, Patterson will provide a spark as a long-range shooter and elite defender at power forward for Oklahoma City. Whether it be in a starter’s role or bench capacity, Patterson can impact the game in a number of ways. The Thunder will need Patterson to become more consistent on the offensive end in order to contend for homecourt advantage in the loaded Western Conference during the 2017-18 season.
Patterson is going into his 9th season in the league, during which he’ll be 28 years old. Until this point, he’s played his last four years for Toronto after previous stints with the Sacremento Kings and Houston Rockets. Patterson provides versatility, defensive ability, and an ever-valuable long-range shooting stroke. Look for Patterson to make a tremendous impact for the Thunder as they continue to improve their roster.
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