He was quoted as being very excited about getting Oladipo. As mentioned it was reported by (I think Bucher-so consider the source ) that he and Ibaka were not very close. So one would think the trade is an upgrade in his eyes. Unless he read this on Sabonis: "Defensively, Sabonis has a lot of room to grow. Not much of a shot blocker or rim protector in general, his lack of elite quickness and length limits him on this end. He is by no means lead-footed, but has struggled to stay in front of quicker forwards at times over the last two years. He does a decent job defending the post, positioning himself fairly well, but struggles to stay straight up defending shots inside, frequently committing unnecessary fouls as a result of that or when his emotions get the best of him. Not battling quite as hard on this end until shots go up as he does the rest of the game, it will be interesting to see what kind of defensive player Sabonis can be at the next level."
I just have a feeling Durant is gonna peace out.... OR just sign a one-year deal with a player option for a second year. I don't think he's staying in OKC.
Oladipo spent 20 games out of the starting lineup from 11/25/15 - 1/2/16. He started every game he played the last 3 months of the season. And he put up some decent numbers in that 40 games too. You're severely underrating the impact Oladipo can have next year.
Sabonis may or may not pan out, but it's still a coup getting him. Oladipo averaged 33 minutes per game, so while not starting was a thing, he played a bunch and is an upgrade. Iliasova may have been lost in a system or whatever, as well. Ibaka's points, rebounds, assists, blocks, PER, offensive rating, defensive rating all went down each of the last three years.
It's going to be really interesting to see the pitch from NY. No doubt OKC has more talent, especially on the defensive end. But can Rose, Melo and Phil sell him on rocking the Garden after years of crap? I would say yes ONLY if he thinks Westbrook is headed to the Lakers after next year.
I would call that better than decent. To have that kind of % shooting, rebounds and assists and to be an outstanding defender, that is outstanding!
Ilyasova has done some traveling in those last 5 months. Detroit to Orlando to OKC. He's a player I consider completely boring for some reason I cannot explain.
Don't get me wrong, I think Orlando drastically overpaid for a guy that could be a one-year-rental.... but with that said, I'm not sure if this is enough to sell Durant on staying.
Who knows? I do know that Oladipo is a fascinating player who has improved significantly on the offensive end, as well as an excellent defender who, along with Westbrook, will match up incredibly well with Curry/Klay. Also, what I think is getting lost in this is the fact that OKC's starting SG from last year (Roberson) is a 6'8" defensive-oriented player who was a PF in college. Could make for an intriguing positional match-up with Draymond. Durant would be wise to take the two year deal with the opt out if for no other reason than to see how this Oladipo experiment plays out, let alone for the financial boon that path generates.
It just occurred to me that if this thread were not on a basketball site you might assume that it was about the two worst domestic terror attacks in US history.
Huh, I kind of forgot about Roberson. Yeah, all this talk about how OKC improved defensively with Oladipo is overblown: Roberson was already an EXCELLENT defender. Ironically, Oladipo's weaker suit, offense, is where they've improved. But is he actually better at offense than Waiters, who will almost certainly leave now? I liked Roberson in the draft - I wonder if he'll be on the move now?
I disagree...and that's no knock on Sabonis, but in support of Vonleh...I like Vonleh and think he's going to be a beast...Sabonis is going to look different against NBA level bigs
