There is no way I am giving him anything close to max money, he looks like a lesser Gordon. In the last 2 games I have yet to see him finish at the rim as well as Gordon and he is a lesser shooter. What am I missing here? I am no great fan or Gordon and don't like that we resigned him but looking at Oladipo he is worth the money. There is no way anybody is giving a FRP for him.
What are you not seeing? He had a cold offensive game, started warming up at the end, and played great D throughout. Give him time.
He's been struggling -- he's a better offensive player than he's shown and he's very good defensively, which seems to be this team's ticket right now. I'm pretty confident a contender would trade a first round pick for him. I'm ok with them keeping him also.
Oh yeah, there's every way you get a first rounder back for him. I might not give him a max either, in fact I know I wouldn't, but he's better than he has looked so far and is definitely going to bring back at least a first if traded.
Any team giving him max money would be idiots. He’s worth a nice contract sure. But anyone believing he’s a max player is easily mistaken. He’s not that type of player
Way too early to tell. He’s had 2 games with Wood and 1 game with Wall. He’s hunting for his shot a bit too much...lots of tunnel vision. But that’s too be expected with him being so new. Look at Harden’s early struggles in Brooklyn...it’s tough adjusting to a new role on a new team.
I think he would fetch 2 FRP and expirings. I also think he would be enough to fetch a young star like Herro or MPJ. The next two months are going to be a trial run and I believe in mid march the team and Victor will get together and talk about his future. It's a nice little mini-season between now and the deadline. So many people don't understand that not everything is going to magically work overnight. The team will gel and get better as it goes. For the past 8 years it was about fitting in with Harden. A much easier task to plug in and play because Harden could basically run a top 5 offense with any player in the system. Now it's a complete team where no 1 player is bigger than the team. Defense first but the Offense will come. Oladipo will round into form just like we are seeing with Boogie, just like we have seen Christian Wood's defense go from awful to above average. It's all a process. Enjoy the next two months and the team will take it from there.
I see him struggle to drive by his man. He doesn't have the blow by ability that EGo and Wall have. Injuries have taken their toll. When Wood returns perhaps will see him involved in more PNR action because he's a good passer. His jump shot isn't elite either so he's going to struggle to create offense completely by himself. Definitely not worth a max.
Seems too many players are getting the max, these days......star players instead of SUPER STAR players are getting it. Really screws up the mid level team building....when everyone is on a max. DD
I don't like how he approaches offense. Very good on defense though. I think if somebody can knock out of his head that he is star and 1st choice on offense and just 2nd-3rd fiddle he would be a lot better. He is more CJ McCollum of a player and should play like that
We need to get rid of the max contract. There should not be a cap on contracts. Lebron, Durant, Harden, Kawhi, and Curry are worth two max contacts. You would trade Wall and Oladipo for any the aforementioned players.
It was a little surprising to see how difficult it was for anyone to get penetration last night. I assume the Wizards zone and Boogie only playing pick and pop instead of pick and roll like Wood is capable is why we struggled so much last night. Also, Wood in the "dunker's" spot a la Capela is something we will likely need to use more of especially if Wall/Dipo/Gordon are all playing with Wood. Putting Wood near the basket is likely a good thing and another wrinkle we can add. Maybe have Tucker set a pick so a guard can drive in the lane and make the other's team big commit to the driver or to Wood. Of course having Wood out there running the pick and roll or pick and pop with Wall or Dipo or Gordon will be a huge play but we need to have various ways to beat teams if we truly want to make some noise. Getting to the rim effectively will be our bread and butter. Anyways, this is going to take time for him to adapt to Wall and Gordon and then will take time for him to adapt when Wood is out there as well. I still like the talent level as Wall/Dipo/Wood and Gordon is an extremely talented team with good mix of shooting, playmaking and defense at the guard position. They will need to learn to play together and trust in the offense and wait for the best shot instead of forcing it.
Oladipo is a good player. He also potentially fits with a more ball dominant super star caliber player because he defends well and cuts and is a good catch and shoot shooter. The issue is HOW much is he worth. I don't think he is worth the maximum salary in the NBA, not for a team like the Rockets that are rebuilding and not for someone with his injury issues. I agree with you that a contender would give up a number one for him, and give back the Rockets expiring (or a majority of expiring) contracts. Just imagine a year ago or two years ago if the Rockets would have been able to add Oladipo to the team while jettisoning expiring contracts and only a number one pick. The Rockets would have jumped all over that opportunity and fans would be rightfully excited. Supposedly the Mavericks have some degree of interest.
The worry is his lack of ability to get a step on defenders. Yesterday he had Alex Len, Lopez, and a bunch of second-tier guards on him that he couldn't get past. He tried, often more than one time in a single possession, only to hit a wall when they shifted over into his driving lane. There were a couple of times he forced it to the hoop even though he didnt get past his man (a few times he got bailed out by the refs and got a foul call when doing this). I am fine with someone having a bad shooting game, but he threw the ball out of bounds, dropped easy passes, and did not seem to have the first step needed to score consistently. I guess we'll see if this improves, but there is good reason to be concerned.
I hope he stays (on a non-killer deal). In-season swap, one practice. He’s smooth. If he and Rox commit to each other it should be a fine marriage.
I told you what I am not seeing and this is not just from last night. What does he do demonstrably better than Gordon?