Very interesting. Oladipo gives them an interesting dynamic, not too shabby a backcourt. Wonder how Orlando will find playing time for vucevic, air Gordon and ibaka.
OKC got a great return for Ibaka. Wow. It's an interesting trade and gives them a lot of versatility, but I'm interested to see how it all fits together.
When I heard about this I thought it meant Durant was gone for sure. Thinking about it though it's a great deal. OKC was weak at shooting guard and Oladipo is young, plays good defense and can score. Adams fills the rim protecting and rebounding niche along with Kanter. Oladipo is dynamic and a playmaker which will allow for awesome sequences between him, KD, and Westbrook. He'll relieve pressure off KD/RW offensively and defensively. To add to it they got young Sabonis who some people think can have a good career. I think this is a great pitch to Durant. The only reason he leaves is to go East for an easier route to the Finals like LeBron.
Great trade. Get a very skilled big man prospect with higher upside than Serge. Get a terrific sixth man in Oladipo. Also a stretch four in Ilyasova. Good trade for Orlando as well. Ibaka gives them a defensive presence, an elite one, and a great locker room guy which is essential for their young squad. With this trade, the addition of Vogel they will be intriguing to watch and should make the playoffs.
good trade for both sides although i'm not sure how the magic plan to fit ibaka, gordon, and vucevic together? maybe one of them will be moved?
I'm not sure how great this trade is. Thunder are very back heavy and have now a joke of a front court. I had started to think Ibaka is past his prime...he has somewhat started playing soft and shooting 3s which I don't like. But he was still intimidating on D, even if it was more reputation this year than anything else... we will see how that impacts Durant's decision.
ibaka got routinely roasted by opposing pfs, imo. his d is overrated. never been a big rebounder, and his shot isn't good enough to justify his drift to the perimeter. he also can't dribble or pass. they chose him over harden. craziness. anyway, his complete lack of ball skills is really what limits him offensively. he's relegated to the lob or catch and shoot. this would be fine if he were a center. i'm not that bullish on oladipo, either, but i'd take him over ibaka at this point. add in sabonis as a backup utility big, and okc wins.
Not sure I agree with that. Ibaka was much better in the playoffs at least defensively. He's always been great defensively. Not Draymond or Kawhi great, not far behind. He's an excellent shot blocker, uses his size, strength, athleticism, and length well, anticipates, rotates, good in switches, and excellent individually and team defense wise.
Ibaka was primarily a help defender. Great at pick and roll and helping, but he was never a strong guy. The further away he moved from the basket taking midrange shots, the less effective he was. Just like Kevin Love. I know it opens up cap for Durant, but like you guys said, the front court is depleted now.
OKC is damn good at turning one player into several assets and now they have a backcourt that can wreak some havoc defensively
ibaka being great defensively is a complete myth, imo. he can block shots. that's really about it. scoring pfs abuse him, and he can't hold position against centers. he can't chase guards in the pick and roll, as he has pretty slow feet. there's more to defense than shotblocking.
