Serge Ibaka extends with OKC - 4 Years 48 mil

They are both role players but Batum has the chance to develop (I doubt he ever would) into a perennial all-star while Ilbaka is an undersized PF destined to be a career Role-player. Also its much much harder to get an elite wing (which again Batum isn't but could be) while good PF are really not hard to come by.

 

Ibaka is better than Batum right now.

 

I'm not saying Batum is better, i'm saying he could be better. Ilbaka is better at the moment but he also plays at a position with a glut of great talent and I personally don't think he is going to improve much more then what he is now. He is a great help defender and a hustle player but very ineffective offensively, I think thats what he is going to be for the rest of his career.
I'd rather have Batum and shoot for the sky because without hitting a the jackpot and getting the #1 pick next year we need multiple people not just Lillard to step up and challenge LA to be the best player on the Blazers otherwise we aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

Rose and Westbrook get about the same money . . . difference is one was a key player on a team that made the finals. Westbrook more valuable than Rose?

 

If Batum has more potential than Ibaka, that's a sad condemnation of our coaching, since Batum has had 4 years (PER 15.4) and Ibaka only 3 years (PER 17.5). A 3-year player should have more potential than a 4-year one. Batum has played 25% more career minutes.

 

No cause its a waste of time.

We aren't getting Harden.

This has been discussed several times before and I don't want to rehash out again.

 

Depends on what you need. Ibaka is very limited offensively. He blocks a lot of shots, but he struggles defending taller/stronger players in the post (Aldridge absolutely destroyed him, forcing OKC to put Perkins on Aldridge). He's an average rebounder for his position. Definitely a role player, but with all the other scorers OKC has, he fills a role nicely for them. OKC overpaid to extend him, but we also overpaid (but not by as much) to retain Batum. Batum is a better, more versatile scorer and is somewhat good at most things, but not great (yet) at any one particular thing.

It will be interesting to see how both players develop. Can Ibaka develop a decent low post game (doubtful due to being undersized), can he become a better low post defender (not JUST a shot blocker)? Right now he's a one trick pony, but very good at that one trick. Can Batum ever realize his potential and become the great all-around player we all want him to be? Hard to say. He shows flashes of brilliance, then disappears for three game in a row. Hopefully, with an expanded role, a new offensive scheme and new coaching staff, he can develop into a more versatile, better all around player.

Only time will tell. They are both overpaid, but Ibaka's contract hurts OKC more than Batum's contract hurts Portland - at least in the short term. Hopefully, Lillard and Leonard develop into the kind of players worthy of large contracts and then we have the same problem OKC is facing now - HUGE luxury tax payments. The difference is we have an owner that can afford those payments.

BNM

 

Was that a typo about Serge being undersized? He's 6'10" and solidly built. What about that is undersized for a PF?

Also, good wings are actually very easy to come by. Big men are a harder get, especially in this day and age, hence why they always get overpaid.

 

I think Ibaka is better than Batum, and while Ibaka isn't really physically undersized, he's pretty bad at post defense, and horrid at post offense. He doesn't know how to used his size other than blocking shots and wide open dunks.

 

Serge Ibaka's post defense is not bad. His defense is just overrated, as will happen with anyone who leads the league in steals or blocks, but I wouldn't go as far as saying he's a bad post defender.

The thing is that there's really just a lack of quality post players in the NBA these days in general, and having someone who can dominate the way Ibaka does on the weakside is more valuable than a wing player who can put up 15-20 ppg, as many players could if given the chance.

In the modern NBA, we'll overpay for size, but given the climate of the current game, it makes more sense to overpay our big men than our wings.

Also, with the criticism of Ibaka aside, James Harden is a very overrated player in his own right. The only player I've seen hack up more ill-advised shots than Harden is Damon Stoudamire, or maybe O.J. Mayo.

I've always been of the opinion that there are 10+ players that could do James Harden's job for a lower price tag than he'll be asking, but I'm not sure there are any players out there who could fill Ibaka's role.

 

Disagree - Ibaka is made to look better by the fact that he is asked to do nothing on offense thanks to the pieces around him. As was mentioned above, he's a very good help defender, but can't guard bigs one-on-one.

 

You wanna see someone who takes more ill-advised shots than Harden? Look no further than his own teammate Russell Westbrook. Harden, and especially Durant are much more efficient scorers than Westbrook, yet during the playoffs Westbrook called his own number WAY too often. Durant is the 3-time defending scoring champ - THE best offensive player in the league. Yet, during the playoffs, Westbrook often completely froze him out in the 4th quarter of close games. During the playoffs, Durant played 70 more minutes, but attempted 24 fewer shots than Westbrook. The best way to stop Kevin Durant with the game on the line? Give the ball to Russell Westbrook.

And, Harden is also a more efficient scorer who gets far fewer shot attempts than Westbrook.

For the 2012 playoffs:

FGA/36:
Westbrook - 19.10
Durant - 16.47
Harden - 12.22

But...

TS%
Westbrook - .506
Durant - .632
Harden - .605

eFG%
Westbrook - .457
Durant - .570
Harden - .509

So, why is the worst shooting, least efficient scorer taking the most shots? You can also compare raw shooting percentages (especially 3FG%) and the fact that even though Westbrook dominates the ball, Durant and Harden draw more fouls, get to the line more often and shoot higher FT percentages. etc.

Given who he plays with, Westbrook may be the biggest ballhog in the entire NBA - MUCH worse at forcing up ill-advised shots than James Harden.

BNM

 

Where do you get this?

Harden is as always has been an effecient scorer.

 

Little bit of a typo, ment to say he is an undersized C who plays PF. His game is more suited towards a centers but he has a very hard time with guarding players who are stronger and bigger then him. If he had a better jumpshot he would be the perfect player to have if you had a C who could score like Al Jefferson or Greg Monroe.

 

I think this is a common misconception about Ibaka. He's a very good shooter out to about 15 feet. There was a game against San Antonio where he went 11-11 with mostly jumpers and everyone was shocked but really if you watch footage of him in Spain before he was drafted he's always had it.

 

Exactly.

He is so young. And already has the foundation for a quality jumper. If he can nail down a rock solid 20' jumper (like many bigs are able to do like Kurt Thomas, for example did early in his career), he will a contributor on offense instead of a liability, and tough to guard with his quickness and mobility.

 

Don't let a one game sample size fool you. Ibaka had a .417 eFG% on jump shots last season. And keep in mind most of those were wide open 12 - 15 footers as other teams deliberately left him wide open to focus on Durant, Westbrook and Harden. That number isn't horrible, but it's also not that great. Of further note, he was assisted on 87% of his made jump shots. That's a ridiculously high number and indicative of the fact that Ibaka can't create his own shot.

Another thing that's interesting about Ibaka is how often he gets his shot blocked around the basket. Of course, everyone knows about how many shots he blocks, but he also gets his own shot blocked at a very high rate (19% for "close shots" - as defined by 82games.com). When I saw that number, I immediately thought of other big men who are either undersized, or not known for their explosive athleticism. Comparing Ibaka to a few other big men:

% of Blocked Close Shots:
Serge Ibaka - 19%
Kevin Love - 13%
DaMarcus Cousins - 13%
David Lee - 12%
Carlos Boozer - 11%
Pau Gasol - 10%
Zach Randolph - 10%
Paul Millsap - 9%

And, just for reference...

LaMarcus Aldridge - 6%

So yeah, Ibaka swats a lot of shots, but he gets his own shot swatted a lot, too.

BNM