I’m thinking, unless someone goes nuts and gives him a max deal, he gets a decently large 1-year contract to prove he can still play, either with the Sixers or elsewhere. At least that’s what I would do, were I an NBA GM, but NBA GMs tend not to have that sort prudence.
I would be surprised if, after that coup of a draft-night future-Wiggins/Randle gambit, the Sixers want to bother with him, even if like you say there’s nobody out there who says screw it and gives him real money.
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You really think Tom Crean was able to plumb the depths of what he could do as a player?
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No, but I don’t think he’d plumbed the depths of what Dwyane Wade could do, either, and I bitterly and vividly remember Wade’s triple double in the tournament. That’s a crazily unfair comparison, obviously, but by the time a guy gets to the NBA draft he’s played enough games that I think you can tell what his skill level is, is all. And for my money a #2 pick for a two guard whose biggest fans aren’t even sure can play his position offensively seems a bit steep to me. Especially with Noel sitting there.
Noel’s ceiling is certainly higher than Oladipo’s, no question, but I think Oladipo carries the lowest risk. Of all the guys in the draft, Oladipo is probably the only player who would be guaranteed to play significant minutes for any team in the league as a rookie, because of his defense.
To everyone knocking Victor’s size - HIS WINGSPAN IS 6’9". I think he’ll be fine checking taller players.
No one has criticized his defense even so far as to say he won’t immediately be the best defender in the league. I’m the one who brought up his height, and I already agreed with you that he’ll be fine on defense against wings.
Well this Orlando fan was thrilled with the Oladipo pick.
Unlike Mac.. Victor plays better d and he can get his own shot. Add to that intelligence (academic allamerican) and a work ethic like crazy..(wasnt recruited heavily out of high school)
Mac… he’s got potential boom bust. broken home.. aau coach with hand out.. couldn’t academically qualify at Kansas.. needed Self to hold his hand.. when he wasnt knocking down his shots.. really added nothing else on the court.. talented tho..
What minutes?? Kendall Marshall has that gig on lock.. with dragic backing up. Goodwin needs to get ready for some NBADL minutes.. and get his game up..
True, but thre have been other posters that have mentioned his height. One other thing that should mitigate any fears is that he had the second best vertical at the combine at 42 inches.
Free agency starts Monday. Chris Paul’s people are supposedly telling all the interested teams not to waste their breath because he’s staying with the Clippers, and Dwight Howard is going to meet with pretty much all the teams that could land him. People say the Rockets are the favorites, which based on talent they probably should be, but I never know how these things are really determined when there haven’t been any meetings and nothing official has happened. The Mavs and Celtics have reportedly discussed a trade of Rajon Rondo, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to go anywhere. Dallas wants to try to pair up Rondo and Howard, and if the Celtics dealt Rondo, they would want to get rid of some of their other bad contracts- and if the Mavs take those contracts they can’t sign Howard. So as currently proposed it doesn’t make sense for either team.
Except for the “any fears” part, I agree again. My only fear is about his ability to make plays on offense, which I don’t think his length and hops are going to provide. He’s long and strong and he can sky, obviously, so we’re all in agreement he can be a plus-plus rebounder and defender and therefore a good player. I think we also all agree that while he can handle 3s on D and while he can rebound with 3s, he’s not a forward in the NBA… because he’s six four. Which is my fear: he has a 3/4 skill set. Nobody else seems concerned about that, so I’m interested to see what happens, but for the record, if I haven’t articulated it clearly enough, I agree that he’ll be a great defender and a good player. I just don’t think he’s a good offensive player and I’m not clear on whether other people think he is a good offensive player or whether they don’t think that but they’re not worried about it. He’s like Michael Kidd Gilchrist, except you have to play him at two, which means his hustle/rebound/defend profile can’t hide as well on offense, not that MKG didn’t disappoint some people because of the terrible environment, despite being pretty much exactly what he projected as. That seems like much more of a problem from a 2 than from a big 3.
That’s really all I’m driving at. I would prefer a guard at the tippy-top of the draft to have demonstrated better guard skills by now, because somebody on the court needs to have those skills. You can’t just throw Oladipo the ball and expect production from him. He’s not a guy who breaks you down in the half court basically ever, doesn’t post up, doesn’t create for anybody else. He’ll be fine as an NBA player, but that seems like too stark a limitation for me when I have a shot at guys who I think can be great.
Well put, JC.
The kind of guy Orlando needed and you talk about simply did not exist in this draft. A go to scorer/star is still their biggest lack, and there are at least two next year.
The Rockets finally traded Thomas Robinson, which clears up enough salary to let them offer Dwight Howard a maximum contract. Robinson is going to Portland. The Knicks and Raptors are talking about a deal that would send Andrea Bargnani to New York for Steve Novak, Marcus Camby and some other spare parts.
Raptors been trying to dump that Bargnani contract for a long long time. I guess if Knicks pull it off (stern rejected first go round) they basically tellin JR to go hang…
Not sure what that still does for them… still have the problem of not being able to play Amare and Melo at same time…
I’m not sure the Knicks can match the offers other teams are going to make to Smith.
There’s talk of the Celtics trading Rondo for Nowitzki. Felger and Mazz don’t like the idea. (They say why trade Rondo for anyone good) I agree, and I also believe that if you’d trade KG and Pierce why hang on to Rondo? If you’re gonna blow it up, don’t half ass the grenade pull.
Not going to happen. That was the stumbling block in their talks earlier: the Mavs don’t really have anyone who is interesting to other teams. Cuban loves Dirk and he’s a big part of their recruiting pitch to Dwight Howard. With Rondo and Nowitzki they could tell Howard he’d complete a Big Three like the Spurs. With Rondo, Lee, Bass and a bunch of other crap, they’re not even close to competing. Dirk’s never going to be traded unless he wants to be.
Not a shocker, but it’s official: Chris Paul re-signs with the Clippers. 5 years, $107 million.
This might be the biggest announced signing after Chris Paul so far: David West is staying in Indiana for three years and $36 million. I don’t think that’s a surprise, but it’s important for the Pacers. Ray Allen is staying in Miami. The Pelicans offered Tyreke Evans a four-year deal for $11 million or $12 million a year. The Bulls and Mike Dunleavy agreed to a two-year deal … oh, and they re-signed Nazr Mohammed. Yay. The Clippers could trade Bledsoe to almost any team in the league but nothing has happened yet.