Gabriel Deck out of the rotation: OKC coach explained the Argentine’s situation in the NBA

Gabriel Deck left the Real Madrid in 2020 to fulfill his dream as a child: to play in the NBA. Although he only played 10 games, ‘Tortuga‘managed to make an impact and everything indicated that it would have a role in Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2021-22 season; however, the coach Mark Daigneault it has left him out of the rotation, jeopardizing his stay in the most important league in the world. Trade spoke with the coach of Thunder on the situation of the native of Colonia Dora, who will have to wait until January 10 to guarantee his entire contract this season of the NBA.

Gabriel Deck joined Facundo Campazzo in the 2020-21 season as the only Argentines in the NBA. The exReal Madrid arrived at the end of the season to a franchise without many aspirations in the immediate future: OKC. The team led by Mark Daigneault It is in a stage of total reconstruction, so it is thinking in the future and not in the present. This has harmed the native of Santiago del Estero, since their role has been reduced to a minimum.

About the end of last season, in 10 games, Deck he averaged 21.2 minutes, 8.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists; more than decent numbers for a second unit player. However, this season, of the 15 games he has played OKCThe Argentine only participated in four games, averaging 5.4 minutes, 2.3 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists. That responds to his condition: the forward is not part of the rotation of OKC.

Mark Daigneault, coach of OKC, always proclaims that he has players for “certain situations” throughout the season. Given this, I consulted him for Gabriel Deck and the “situations that he has been able to identify to put the Argentine in this campaign.”

The coach responded as follows: “He can’t tell you what the circumstances are. We are balancing the rotation, we have 17 players and they all deserve minutes. We have players who are developing their skills. Poku is one of the examples on the team. It is difficult to evaluate a player before his level of experience is equal to that of his teammates ”.

Then he continued: “Deck He has played a lot at a professional level, we were able to evaluate him about the end of last season, but it is not enough. We have a lot of young players, we are investing minutes in them. I give credit that when we call Deck, go in and make an impact on the pitch, responding to expectations ”.

Finally, the coach of OKC sentenced: “Now he is not in the rotation, but things change very fast. We are using Blue, the G-League team, as efficiently as possible. They have allowed us to send three players and we always have, that alters the rotation. I will tell you the same thing that I tell my clients: everything changes and they must be prepared. That I have told Deck and to all the players in OKC. We ask you to be professionals and Deck he has done very well ”.

As mentioned before, Gabriel Deck he does not have his contract secured for this season. The Argentine could be cut by OKC until January 10. However, we know that this will not happen because the Thunder’s finances do not add up: if they get rid of their contract, they would fall into the salary floor penalty (salaries below the minimum allowed). However, this does not ensure that the sporting situation of ‘Tortuga’ will change, since the coach has been very clear: he does not take it into account for the rotation.