Victor Oladipo: A better Dwayne Wade

[KiiiiNG]

Just kidding. But tell me his movements aren't very Wade-like. Kid is very smooth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYXAhvZc__8

By acquiring Victor the Thunder have now become the best penetrating team in the league. As we saw in the finals.... penetration is key! The Irving/Bron duo proved to be TOO much for the 3 pt. chucking Warriors. And remember the Thunder were a couple of possessions away from beating the Warriors in 6. So the acquisition of Oladipo will surely put them over the top.

With Oladipo OKC gets a huge upgrade on offense without much drop-off at all on defense, if ANY.

A SG who can score and play defense? :wtf:

OKC struck gold!

[Prime_Shaq]

Yup and Magic have Scrubaka. Thanks for reminding me about the trade.

[KiiiiNG]

Yup and Magic have Scrubaka. Thanks for reminding me about the trade.
And thanks for reminding me that Booker almost fell to OKC. :oldlol:

:mad:

[FreezingTsmoove]

He just got shut down by a high schooler at CP3s camp

The high schooler is the number 1 ranked PG for 2016 Dennis Smith Jr

[MiseryCityTexas]

More like a better Dion Waiters.

[J Shuttlesworth]

LeBron
Durant
Westbrook
Dray
Klay
Dipo

FAM STAYS WINNING :applause: :cheers: :pimp: :rockon:

[PJR]

How about no. He's not Wade anything.

There's a reason Orlando was willing deal Oladipo.

He's solid, but not spectacular. He's not a great defender and his at the rim finishing ability fell off a cliff last year. The Magic lost faith in his ability to be anything more than an inconsistent scoring tweener guard.

He and Dion Waiters are the same.

[90sgoat]

It's difficult to get excited for another selfish undersized shooting guard, you can feed swine with them these days.

[GrapeApe]

He does move like Wade at times and he's got some explosion, but that's where the comparison ends. Oladipo's skill level isn't remotely close, nor is his basketball IQ. He's a nice young player but I don't see him becoming anything more than a fringe all-star.

[HylianNightmare]

A crackhead homeless mans wade

[Im Still Ballin]

This'll be interesting!

[r0drig0lac]

Oladipo = poors man Wade
Harris = poors man Carmelo
Gordon = poors man Blake

[ZMonkey11]

Lol. Only thing this shows is he is athletic. He isn't splitting defenses. He's not forcing people out of his way. He doesn't display the mid-range game a young DWade had. He doesn't distribute like young DWade did. And he has more range DWade does.

You trying to get credit for "analyzing" film when this is exactly what it said on his scouting report when he got drafted? Bruh.

[Klay 3D]

I see a Barbosa that jumps higher. That disrespect to one of the greats. :facepalm

[RedBlackAttack]

How about no. He's not Wade anything.

There's a reason Orlando was willing deal Oladipo.

He's solid, but not spectacular. He's not a great defender and his at the rim finishing ability fell off a cliff last year. The Magic lost faith in his ability to be anything more than an inconsistent scoring tweener guard.

He and Dion Waiters are the same.
The Magic were actually better in the 20 or so games that Oladipo didn't start. I think people who don't watch him much if at all (Western Conference fans) have a bit of a warped opinion of what they're getting.

There is absolutely no connection between what Dwyane Wade brings to a roster -- even now -- and what Oladipo can do. Dipo came into the league being touted as a "defensive stopper," or a guy who would be an All Defensive Team candidate pretty much right out of the gates.

The truth is, he has been pretty average defensively. He has a good motor and he brings good energy on that end... and he has pretty good length for the position, but he is no great defensive player. He's not a game-changer on that end.

Offensively, his problem is that there is nothing he does exceptionally well. He is an OK shooter, OK slasher... not a great finisher in traffic and not a great playmaker.

I don't want to sell him short. He's a pretty good player. I've always felt he is overrated though.

Dipo is more consistent than Dion Waiters, but when Waiters is focused and playing well, he's better than Oladipo, imo. So, they're essentially getting a more consistent guy with a lower ceiling. Waiters and Oladipo are comparable players.

[Jameerthefear]

The Magic were actually better in the 20 or so games that Oladipo didn't start. I think people who don't watch him much if at all (Western Conference fans) have a bit of a warped opinion of what they're getting.

There is absolutely no connection between what Dwyane Wade brings to a roster -- even now -- and what Oladipo can do. Dipo came into the league being touted as a "defensive stopper," or a guy who would be an All Defensive Team candidate pretty much right out of the gates.

The truth is, he has been pretty average defensively. He has a good motor and he brings good energy on that end... and he has pretty good length for the position, but he is no great defensive player. He's not a game-changer on that end.

Offensively, his problem is that there is nothing he does exceptionally well. He is an OK shooter, OK slasher... not a great finisher in traffic and not a great playmaker.

I don't want to sell him short. He's a pretty good player. I've always felt he is overrated though.

Dipo is more consistent than Dion Waiters, but when Waiters is focused and playing well, he's better than Oladipo, imo. So, they're essentially getting a more consistent guy with a lower ceiling. Waiters and Oladipo are comparable players.
nah not really at all actually

[RedBlackAttack]

nah not really at all actually
I guess we'll find out. This is his chance to prove everyone who doubted him wrong. Feel free to bump the thread when/if that day comes.

[DMAVS41]

I guess we'll find out. This is his chance to prove everyone who doubted him wrong. Feel free to bump the thread when/if that day comes.

Yea, but Waiters hasn't done anything yet either. He's clearly a worse defender and he's been unreliable to say the least as a person/player so far in his career.

He's also been pathetically inefficient. With a career 48.8% TS rate...which is just laughable for a guy who is supposed to be an offensive player.

Even if Oladipo isn't great...the bar is about as low as possible to be better than Waiters.

There is virtually nothing to suggest that Waiters has ever been as good as Oladipo was that past season.

[RedBlackAttack]

Yea, but Waiters hasn't done anything yet either. He's clearly a worse defender and he's been unreliable to say the least as a person/player so far in his career.

He's also been pathetically inefficient. With a career 48.8% TS rate...which is just laughable for a guy who is supposed to be an offensive player.

Even if Oladipo isn't great...the bar is about as low as possible to be better than Waiters.

There is virtually nothing to suggest that Waiters has ever been as good as Oladipo was that past season.
We'll see how efficient Oladipo is now that he doesn't have free rein of the offense or considered the primary weapon for the first time in his career. Waiters was a 51% TS player in his last full season with the Cavs as the second option ... not great, but comparable to Oladipo in his second season in Orlando as the first option (?).

Then, Waiters went to OKC and was given a very specific role in the offense, at which point his efficiency fell off a cliff. I'll be interested to see if Oladipo steps up into that role or if there are similarly inefficient results.

I just don't think he's ever going to be a consistent enough outside shooter to become what OKC needs from that spot, but I could be wrong.

[DMAVS41]

We'll see how efficient Oladipo is now that he doesn't have free rein of the offense or considered the primary weapon for the first time in his career. Waiters was a 51% TS player in his last full season with the Cavs as the second option ... not great, but comparable to Oladipo in his second season in Orlando as the first option (?).

Then, Waiters went to OKC and was given a very specific role in the offense, at which point his efficiency fell off a cliff. I'll be interested to see if Oladipo steps up into that role or if there are similarly inefficient results.

I just don't think he's ever going to be a consistent enough outside shooter to become what OKC needs from that spot, but I could be wrong.

Yea, but I'm not claiming that Oladipo is a drastically better offensive player than Waiters. I completely agree that they are pretty similar...although I do think Dipo is a smarter player.

The difference is that Dipo actually has the ability to really impact the game defensively. Now, I'm not saying he's some elite defensive force, but he will be an asset on defense for any team really. While Waiters is not a good defender...probably just a bad one given how he plays the game.

So two players similar on offense. One is a pretty darn good defender and a smarter player. The other is pretty darn stupid player and poor defender.

So far...you have to say Dipo has been the better player.

[RedBlackAttack]

Yea, but I'm not claiming that Oladipo is a drastically better offensive player than Waiters. I completely agree that they are pretty similar...although I do think Dipo is a smarter player.

The difference is that Dipo actually has the ability to really impact the game defensively. Now, I'm not saying he's some elite defensive force, but he will be an asset on defense for any team really. While Waiters is not a good defender...probably just a bad one given how he plays the game.

So two players similar on offense. One is a pretty darn good defender and a smarter player. The other is pretty darn stupid player and poor defender.

So far...you have to say Dipo has been the better player.
Dipo has been the better player, yes. I'd argue he was drafted into a more conducive situation to fit his skillset than Dion, but no matter ... And he's definitely a more consistent defender, for sure. You can rely on him to bring energy and focus on that end. Waiters, when he is locked in and focused, can also be a good enough defender. For instance, he had some really nice defensive games in the playoffs.

It was actually a pretty major story for a little while.

OKC's defense by Dion Waiters and Andre Roberson are eroding the Spurs offense (http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2016/5/11/11654960/thunder-film-room-roberson-waiters-defense-vs-spurs-2016-playoffs)

https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pxzBthgNdQoY39fkcfj3dzj0kVU=/1200x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6469661/aCDVclp.0.gif

https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uHDhwxgd4b789gTH2p5pf77KxTA=/1200x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6469663/3gTl7bm.0.gif

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EMRfh_HaWg-zxqRiNbM0cMQ9IRg=/1200x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6469673/zjZqmwP.0.gif

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nJ3p_O--uhOxwRA8XyLcSQAZv7k=/1200x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6469693/6P6JsFp.0.gif

Again, he showed those flashes in Cleveland, too. He even did more than "show flashes"... there was a long stretch during his second season wherein I thought he was our best perimeter defender.

So, I'm not so sure that when it really counts, like against the Spurs/Warriors in the playoffs, that Oladipo is going to be that much better than Waiters defensively, if at all... because Waiters was actually good for the most part in those moments.

What Dipo brings that is undeniable is consistency. Maybe OKC is to the point where they prefer that over having to push a guy to give that extra effort or it has to be a big playoff game to get going? If that's the case, they got it.

[DMAVS41]

We'll have to disagree there. Oladipo has a much higher ceiling on defense than Waiters does imo. Also, that consistency matters even in the playoffs. A smarter player like Dipo that doesn't have as many lapses is going to see the court more. I'd imagine Dipo will play roughly 33 to 35 minutes a game for the Thunder in the playoffs. Those extra 6 to 8 minutes in and of themselves are valuable...

Having said that...I do agree that Waiters played very well for the Thunder in the playoffs this year. I'm just not sure I can put a lot of weight on that given what I've seen for his career to date.

Cavs were smart to get rid of him...and the Thunder are smart to replace him with Dipo if that is the choice.

I like Waiters on the Thunder though. If money didn't matter...I'd want both of them and I think it would work great. But obviously I'm assuming Waiters is gone like everyone else.

[Hey Yo]

Once the postseason starts, Oladipo will be asked to play defense first and scoring will be second.

Billy Donovan..... "stick to Klay like glue at all times, Vic!!!!"