If you don't know who Robert Vaden is, I can't blame you. In the 2009 NBA Draft, the Thunder made some big moves. They drafted James Harden, a safe pick at #3. They also traded for B.J. Mullens, a regular feature on the Thunder bench. But what most people don't know is that they also traded for Robert Vaden, a deep second round pick. He was a great scorer at UAB, and is most known for his three point shooting skills.
After that, he spent a year in the Italian second division, which was well-recapped by Sham of ShamSports.com:
He averaged 16.9 points in 35.7 minutes per game there, shooting more threes than twos and hitting them at 40%.
Vaden returned to the United States this Summer, playing on the Thunder's Summer League team in Orlando. He eventually landed with the 66ers, after they traded Mustafa Shakur for him in the D-League draft. While with the 66ers, he averaged 10.4 Points, 2.4 Rebounds, 2.2 Assists, and 0.9 steals in 28 minutes.
Vaden was a huge part in helping the 66ers triumph over the Texas Legends in the first round of the NBA D-League playoffs. As recapped by Scott Schroeder over at Ridiculous Upside, in the first game, he hit four of five three pointers early on, and he also scored six in the fourth quarter. The 66ers are currently awaiting the winner of the Iowa Energy-Utah Flash playoff series.
It's not a surprising decision to call up Vaden. The Thunder were letting the Nuggets shoot tons of wide open corner threes last night, and that could be a huge problem down the line. Having him in practice will help keep players more keen on what's happening on the perimeter. He'll be with us for the rest of the season and eligible for the playoffs, but I don't foresee him getting much time, unless Cook and Robinson get injured or the Thunder decide to rest their players.
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