Gabriel Deck’s stage has come to an end as could be foreseen. The player had a four-year non-guaranteed contract that had two cut-off clauses in the second of them and the cut-off has been activated in order to make a dispatch play in which to win an election of draft. That’s what the value of the ‘Tortuga’ in the NBA has been reduced to, at least for now. The operation has also taken the Nigerian-born American Miye Oni ahead, also directly to unemployment: the Thunder achieve an acquisition of the future without touching the template, since it displaces Deck and they do not stay with Oni either, and the Jazz open another A gap in the workforce that gives them flexibility to close the transfer market. It’s a poor conclusion for the first, if any, Deck experience across the pond.
The official account that was created to report on Gaby’s NBA adventure states that “the torture is over”. The player did not have the confidence of the franchise and now has to find a new destination. In two days he will be completely free, but he could keep his lucrative contract if someone claims him being in the category of waivers (unlikely). Journalist Andrew Schlecht, who follows the Thunder closely and works to The Athletic, define the Deck stage as “one of the Thunder’s greatest mysteries” and something “it made no sense from start to finish”.
For the Oklahoma City team there was a reason to sign him. It was a priority to raise the minimum salary required by the NBA to comply with the rules, hence he took 3.8 million for playing only ten games to which he adds the 1.7 of the equivalent of his contract this year until it has finished bonding. The money has allowed him to live better after leaving a Real Madrid where he was one of the lowest paid, but ‘Tortu’ has lost media exposure even though he is only 26 years old. This season he has only averaged 2.6 points and has missed a single minute in 26 of his team’s 33 games. The Thunder’s goal is between the tanking and rebuilding, with Deck on a tightrope that was snapped.
From the first moment there were doubts about his role, but he was sponsored by Sam Presti as other Argentines had already been: he is the country’s factory in the NBA, he chose Ginobili, Scola and Oberto and also tried Prigioni, Wolkowyski, Montecchia , Kammerichs and Pepe Sánchez. The problem was in the bench and in the diffuse idea that one has of the team. Mark Daigneault had him in mind last year, but when changing seasons he has implemented small changes without there having been a beastly innovation on the campus that have left Gaby Deck out. He is not the only player to whom it has happened: Théo Maledon, a second-year Frenchman, was also almost fixed in 2020/21 and has been more out than in it.
The Thunder are fighting to improve and there are four teams worse than them right now in the rankings, so some key that works is being played. Deck was forced to do things that he is not used to and has lost that game with his back in the post that was doing so well in Argentina and Spain, in addition to having obvious problems with the language. The objectives were to hold out as long as possible with that contract from the sky that was around 11 million dollars and try in the best league in the world, two objectives achieved although the feeling may be of unease, anger or grief for his followers and for himself .
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OKC continues to be a weak team in the Western Conference and testing players. The star is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has shown improved leadership skills and has won the team with decisive shots, and a new point guard capable of playing in various positions has arrived, Josh Giddey, who has become the Youngest player in history to make a triple-double. Outside of them, and looking at the forward position that Deck occupied, Dort and Bazley were immovable, the rookie, Robinson-Earl, has burst in, the coach trusted Williams and Roby, Pokusevski remained as a combo ‘3’ – ‘4’. .. He did not have a place or they did not do it.
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Much money and few minutes: Deck’s “torture is over”