Five quick thoughts on Deadline Day

The Thunder play the Mavericks in a few hours, but here are five quick thoughts in my head about just what the heck happened today:

1. The Thunder got better, both in the present and the future. The world is a little bit split on Enes Kanter and if he’s actually good, but here are the facts: He’s 22 years old and was the No. 3 pick in the 2011 draft. He’s averaging 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in 27.1 minutes per game with a 17.88 PER. He scores a lot in the paint, but can shoot from midrange (albeit not great: 32.1 percent from 15-19 feet his season), and has even hit 13-of-41 from 3 this season. He’s a restricted free agent this summer, which could be concerning, especially since he and the Jazz were apparently never close to agreeing on an extension. But the Thunder intend to re-sign him this summer, and are confident in doing that.

How does the rotation play out? Kanter was apparently unhappy with Rudy Gobert taking minutes from him, and the Thunder seem to like Steven Adams in the starting five. Kanter may start in the interim, but once Adams returns, how does he fit. Scott Brooks has a ton of new weapons to play with, but it’s going to be interesting to see how he uses them.

What the Thunder have in the three main players they acquired is some added roster stability. Like I said, they’re confident they’ll re-sign Kanter, Singler is restricted so they can keep him if they want, and Augustin is under contract through next season, so backup point guard is already taken care of.

And if you really want to get technical, this trade today was another branch on the Harden trade tree: By not having to amnesty Kendrick Perkins in 2013, the Thunder had his attractive expiring contract to trade, and also have the offseason money to keep Kanter. That might make a lot of you punch the wall anyway, but them’s the facts.

2. The Thunder traded a really good player in Reggie Jackson. Here’s the thing: Jackson may go to the Pistons and be fantastic. Revisionist history may decide the Thunder messed up big time, with everyone laughing at them for trading Jackson just like they did for dealing James Harden. But here’s reality: The Thunder had a guy that didn’t want to be here. It wasn’t only affecting him, but it was affecting people around him. Jackson’s on-court production had dramatically dipped, and he was doing things that screamed he didn’t want to stay. Soft on-ball defense, a lack of aggressiveness attacking the basket (don’t get hurt!), lots of bad jumpers, not-so-subtle media comments and of course, the trade request.

Again, Jackson may average 20-5-5 for the Pistons. He’s really good. But the Thunder were never going to get the best out of him. He had his mind made up, and it wasn’t to get on the bus with the Thunder. That’s what’s so often missed in these kinds of situations: It’s not about collecting talent; it’s about how that talent fits together. And Jackson no longer fit.

So the Thunder had two options: a) Trade him now and try and get something back; b) wait until the summer to see what his offer was and decide to match or not. They chose the first, because it was them taking control of the situation. Don’t misunderstand: The Thunder wanted to keep Jackson. They offered him a substantial extension in October. But if they put their foot down and forced him to stay, what was going to happen in the future? Next season, this same scenario would’ve been playing out with a toxic locker room becoming an issue.

Not to bring up Harden, but let me bring up Harden: This was nearly the same situation. Harden made his intentions and wishes clear early in the negotiation process and the Thunder decided to pull the trigger early, hoping to get a better deal. It’s fun to think about, had they waited until the deadline and let the relationship possibly deteriorate like this, would the perception of the trade be different?

3. D.J. Augustin makes the Thunder’s second unit better. Is he a better player than Reggie Jackson? Obviously no. But he’s a veteran that very clearly knows who he is, and what his role will be. He’ll be the best true backup point guard since Eric Maynor, and may help the second unit reach its potential — meaning maybe Anthony Morrow will actually get some shots. Dion Waiters is the wild card here, but the hope is that with Jackson removed from the equation, Waiters can run more pick-and-roll and be less of a spot-up shooter. Augustin has built-in chemistry with the team already (played with KD at Texas) and can fit in the backcourt with Westbrook at times. Decent shooter, good passer, good handler.

4. Kyle Singler is an underrated pickup. He’s a 40 percent 3-point shooter (good from the corners) and a better-than-you-think defender. He’s not likely to play big minutes, but as an option behind Durant, and someone to lean on in smallball lineups as a 3, Singler gives OKC a different option.

5. Perk. Kind of surreal that Kendrick Perkins is no longer with the Thunder. No player was more heavily criticized, but Perk was part of a major transition in the Thunder: Going from a young group that lacked any kind of mettle or toughness, to become one of the hardest teams in the league. Set an illegal screen on a loved one tonight in memory of the big guy.