Oladipo >>> > Waiters. They just got a LOT better defensively, which is weird because they traded away a defensive standout. They already have a championship caliber offense that Gasol helped them with. Now they have a championship caliber defense, too.
If this trade excited Durant enough to re-sign then it was a huge trade for them. Serge is only 26 though so maybe it ends up pissing him off. Tough to know. Sabonis is a solid young player, but nothing special right now. Hard to know how much better he will get. Can he step outside and shoot? He is a solid post up player, but will his short wing span be an issue against NBA talent? It' not like he is a leaper. Not saying he won't be good, just not as good as Ibaka. To me them getting Oladipo is the key. Granted he lost his starting position in Orlando, but having him come off the bench in OKC might turn out to be effective. On one hand what will he do when Westbrook dominates the ball? But those two defensively in the back court will be very disruptive. I like the move for OKC if they get Durant back.
I think a good comparison for this trade is the Kevin Love-Andrew Wiggins trade. It's eerily similar, except, weirdly, you switch the status of the teams. It's the worse team getting the established rebounder/three point shooter.
Let's revisit this after Durant re-signs. Because if he doesn't, Ersan Ilyasova is instantly OKC's best shooter.
I'm just really not that impressed with this trade. When we were talking oladipo and vucevic for CJ there were people who thought it was a bad trade.
It's a sweet nba2k trade for okc, but the more I think about it, Orlando got the best player, and okc is worse next year with the deal. They traded away the 3rd guy in their "big 3" again. That said, this deal hinges on sabonis. If he develops into an all star then yeah, okc is stoked, but if not...Also I expect a resurgent year from ibaka, walk year and whatnot.
I heard on the radio that Ilyasova is only guaranteed until June 30th and that to save cap space OKC may not pick up his option. I also heard that Serge and Durant were not the best of buds........Serge was often pissed because he never got the ball.
I don't this trade is as good as it appears for OKC...Should he stay he will likely have to wait for the development of Sabonis to eye a championship. OKC lost the third guy in its big three, and even with Adams and Kanter, it weakens their front court at least for the short term. Oladipo and Waiters aren't going to get along, Waiters is being replaced, it's the Reggie Jackson thing all over again. So is Illyasova OKC's starting 4 now, or will they give it to McGary Orlando while conceivably ironing out their front court take the risk of getting their team for a rental. Will Ibaka really choose to stay in Orlando after next season, I doubt it. I guess Orlando and OKC for that matter are crossing their fingers. This all seems pretty desperate on both sides.
Come on guys. Orlando got hosed. Yes, ibaka is a good fit next to vucevic. But its a one year rental. Sabonis is gonna be good and is cheap the next 4 years. Oladipo might be a one year rental too, but gives them insurance if russ and kd leave next year (i think kd resigns on a 1 year deal). They dont have to bring back the soup juggler now. Ilyasova can be waived immediately to save them money as his deal is nonguaranteed. If they decide to keep him, hes a fine bball player they could use. Oladipo and ibaka are pretty close in terms of tier level in value. Bigs are usually more valuable though. Okc got a lot for ibaka and helped themselves $$$$ wise for next year, gives them options with different guys in the future, and a couple guys they can rebuild with if kd and russ leave.
The more I think of this trade the more I don't think it makes the Thunder that much better next year. I don't think it matters for the regular season and I think they might even have a better record because if you can run and push the ball the Thunder are going to be extremely dangerous and hard to guard but in the playoffs when you can slow down the game and not give them so many easy buckets or running opportunities their spacing is going to be beyond horrible. Oladipo can't shoot, RW can't shoot, and neither can Adams or Kanter so that leaves the starting lineup of KD/whoever to shoot the three which isn't horrible but really limits the spacing once your playing against Defensive that get set quickly. They are basically upgrading the D of the 2 position while significantly downgrading there defense at the 4 position, or at the 3 if you move KD to the 4, to upgrade offensively. The Thunder didn't really go off in the playoffs until there D stepped up for 8 or so games, something very few people predicted that the Thunder would be able to sustain and now they downgrade that D to get better offensively which isn't something they had a great problem with last year.
I'm not saying it's a bad trade for okc (money, flexibility, rebuild) just that they aren't necessarily better next year. It will hinge on sabonis developing going forward.
Question for everyone, do you think Sabonis will be better than Vonleh? It seems that the love on this board for Domantas is awfully high. Yet I don't see as much love for him elsewhere. Is it the name? I think he is solid, but based on his size and athletic measurements, I think Vonleh has a higher ceiling. Height: advantage Sabonis by 1/2 inch, but Vonleh has a longer wingspan by 6 inches. All other measurements .....Sabonis refused to be measured for. I can't but help wonder why? I just don't see much difference between the two. Sabonis has better post up skills, but has short arms. Vonleh is more athletic IMO. It will be interesting to watch as the years go by.
Question - does this trade make KD happy? Is this a "win now" trade? Because this sure as shit feels like a Batum for Hendo/Vonleh trade.
Oladipo is a huge upgrade for soup juggler. Iliasova, while not the player Ibaka quite is, is still a vet big that can rebound and stroke 3s. Sabonis is a lottery pick. Not sure how Durrant wouldn't be ecstatic
Ilyasova was EXTREMELY inconsistent last year. I had him on my fantasy team for a bit and he was pretty horrible. I don't think he can be counted on. Sabonis is a rookie. Oladipo wasn't even starting for the magic. The Thunder just traded one of their best players. Oh.... and Meyers Leonard was a lottery pick. That don't mean shit.
