As first reported by Chema de Lucas, and later iterated by Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Oklahoma City Thunder will reportedly sign Real Madrid’s Gabriel Deck to a contract.
In light of the move, the Thunder have waived Darius Miller to open a roster spot for the forward.
Deck, now 26, concluded his Euroleague campaign with Real Madrid Thursday. Deck posted averages of 9.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 58 appearances with the club while shooting 36.5 percent from three on two attempts per contest.
The 6-foot-8 forward brings a long lineage of success overseas, winning three Spanish Supercups, three LNB championships (Argentina’s top league,) two LNB Finals MVP accolades, and an LNB MVP award in 2018.
In Deck’s 11-year playing career (started at age 15,) this is not the first time the Argentinian native has been in NBA circles. After the 2019 World Cup, Kobe Bryant reportedly saw Deck as a “good fit” for the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that never came to fruition, but it signaled to Deck’s progression. Over the past year, Deck received murmurs of NBA interest when his former Real Madrid teammate Facundo Campazzo inked a multi-year deal with the Denver Nuggets — now Real Madrid will be drained of another star.
Contract details are not set and stone, but per Emiliano Carchia, the deal should be set for the next three seasons. Deck joined the Thunder after Real Madrid failed to present a worthwhile contract extension during the EuroLeague season.
Upon Deck’s arrival, he will join an injury-riddled roster highlighted by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and Darius Bazley amongst others.
Deck will become the Thunder’s fourth pickup this season with prior overseas experience, joining Theo Maledon (France,) Jaylen Hoard (France,) and Aleksej Pokusevski (Serbia) in that category.
Deck will fly to Oklahoma City in the coming days uniting with the team sometime in the next week.