The Oklahoma City Thunder have made a move to acquire a backup center.
Oklahoma City traded the Boston Celtics for 27-year-old center Vincent Poirier, the organizations announced Thursday night.
In exchange, the Thunder gave up a protected second-round pick. Oklahoma City also received cash considerations in the trade.
Poirier, listed at 7 feet tall and 235 pounds, saw limited time on the competitive Celtics team last season. As a rookie, he appeared in just 22 games and averaged 5.9 minutes per.
In those minutes, he averaged 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds.
He played in four G League games, during which he posted 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in 26.5 minutes per game.
In trading for Poirier, general manager Sam Presti adds yet another international player to his roster. Poirier first played in the EuroCup in 2013, and in 2016-17 averaged about 25 minutes per game in France’s top league.
In 2018-19 EuroLeague, Poirier averaged 11.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game while shooting 61.7% from the field.
There is hope that Poirier can continue developing due to his relative inexperience in the sport. He didn’t start playing basketball until he was 16 years old, according to the Celtics website.
Poirier tweeted his thanks to the Celtics minutes after the deal was announced.
Thank you @celtics for your warm welcome and this great year ! To my teammates, coaching staff and the fans see you soon ☘️🤟🏼
— Vincent Poirier (@viinze_17P) November 20, 2020
His fit on the Thunder will become more clear as the offseason continues. Oklahoma City’s center situation is unclear, as they have Steven Adams and Al Horford, and PF/C Mike Muscala reportedly accepted his player option.
Poirier may be able to take the place of unrestricted free agent Nerlens Noel as a backup big.
