NBA Rumors: OKC Thunder waiving Darius Miller to sign Real Madrid forward Gabriel Deck

Gabriel Deck represented Argentina at the 2019 FIBA World Cup

Real Madrid Basketball's Gabriel Deck is on the radar of OKC Thunder if the latest NBA rumors are to be believed. The Argentinian had declared for the 2017 NBA Draft but wasn't picked by any team at the time.

Gabriel Deck signed with Real Madrid in 2018. After plying his trade for the Spanish outfit for three years, the 26-year-old will finally realize his dream of playing in the NBA. As per Shams Charania of The Athletic, OKC Thunder will be signing Deck to a multi-year contract.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are waiving swingman Darius Miller, creating roster space to sign Euroleague forward Gabriel Deck of Real Madrid to a contract, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 9, 2021

Teams have until April 9 to finalize their rosters. As a result, several players have been waived or acquired in free agency over the last few days. OKC Thunder have also been active lately and look set to add Gabriel Deck to their roster. They've only recently acquired the likes of Jaylen Hoard and Justin Robinson, but Deck seems like a bigger prospect.

NBA Rumors: What does Gabriel Deck bring to the table for OKC Thunder?

Deck featured for Real Madrid early today

Gabriel Deck put up 19 points and four assists against Fenerbahce just hours ago to lead Real Madrid into the 2021 EuroLeague Playoffs. The 6'8 forward has averaged 10 points and four rebounds per game in Liga ACB this season while shooting at 53.3% from the field. He had a massive 24-point outing in the final of the 2019 FIBA World Cup where Argentina eventually lost to Spain.

For the OKC Thunder, Gabriel Deck is another home run swing. It's too early to predict Deck's ceiling, but the franchise is currently in the middle of a rebuild and has the needed time to develop him. The Thunder are already seeing Serbian Aleksej Pokusevski show some potential and have decided to take a punt on another European product.

Manu Ginobili on an Argentinian podcast said that Kobe Bryant asked him about Gabriel Deck, and that Kobe became a fan of his and wanted to “take him to the Lakers”

So that’s something
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) April 8, 2021

As far as Darius Miller is concerned, he was a deep rotation guy for OKC Thunder anyway and at 30, he doesn't fit the franchise's current timeline. The Thunder needed to waive someone to clear a roster spot for Gabriel Deck, and Miller had no future in Oklahoma City.

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