Oladipo wants to be better THUNDER
Will a huge summer lead to a huge season for Victor Oladipo?
Remember the images of 2016? Oladipo was acquired by the Thunder in a draft-day trade, then jet-set to California to work out with Russell Westbrook. A new dynamic duo was forged, not the caliber of Westbrook-Kevin Durant, but with an eye on being a nightmare backcourt for opposing teams.
Nearly a year later, the Oladipo-Westbrook pairing still holds promise.
Oladipo also has to be better.
“It’s going to be a very relentless summer. A summer that I need to be focused,” Oladipo said April 26 at his exit interview. “I’m looking forward to it.”
As good as Oladipo was in his first season in Oklahoma City, there’s room for improvement and expanded responsibility. Both will be needed as the 24-year-old goes from a promising two-way
player on a rookie-scale contract to a must-have contributor making $21 million in the first year of an $84 million contract.
“He’s improved every single year he’s been in the league, and I would expect him to continue to do that,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. “I really don’t have a concern that they will continue to, but there’s no question, Victor, Steven (Adams), those guys have to get better for us to continue to get where we want to go, and I think they are going to work to get to that point.
“I think he really showed a level of efficiency as a two-way player that’s really hard to find.”
Presti’s right there. Oladipo was one of the better two-way guards in the NBA, and his defensive effort on the perimeter was second on the Thunder only to Andre Roberson. Oladipo led the Thunder in contested 3-pointers (247) and charges drawn (eight), and was second only to Westbrook in loose balls recovered (80).
Per basketball-reference, Oladipo was one of 19 guards in the league last season to shoot better than 35 percent from 3 and have two or more defensive win shares (estimated number of wins contributed by a player due to his defense). That was with missing nine games with a sprained right wrist and six more with back spasms.
Those injuries cut into the consistency Oladipo tried to establish, the aggressiveness Westbrook openly called for from his running mate. Oladipo didn’t dive into specifics about what he needs to improve on, but he said he knows.
“I know what to expect now,”Oladipo said. “I played with these guys for a year. I know what my role is.”
But what will Oladipo’s role be this season? By the time the ball was put into his hands in the postseason as the point guard with Westbrook on the bench, it was too late. The Thunder was closed out in five games by Houston, with Oladipo logging a disappointing series on offense (10.8 points per game, 34.4 percent shooting, 24 percent on 3-pointers).
While Oladipo was efficient offensively playing alongside Westbrook in the regular season, hitting career highs in field goal percentage (44.2) and 3-point percentage (36.1), opportunities to put the ball in his hands with Westbrook off the floor weren’t utilized. Two percent of his minutes this season came at point guard (per basketball-reference. com). When Oladipo did get those opportunities, he didn’t look comfortable (Ex. Eight turnovers against Minnesota late in the season with Westbrook resting).
“I think there’s probably more opportunity for us to look at that going forward,” Presti said, one of the more understated answers of his seasonending press conference.
“I like handling the ball. I like making decisions, and I know I can,” Oladipo said. “Now it’s a matter of doing it on a consistent basis.”
Even if the Thunder gets a backup point guard in free agency, via trade or the draft, opportunity has turned to necessity for Oladipo going into Year 2 with the Thunder.
More experience. More money. More on the plate of a player the Thunder expects more out of next season.
“I just need to grow as a player, grow as a person, and just attack the summer with the mentality of getting better,” Oladipo said. “The mentality of coming back better, stronger, more experienced than ever before. So I’m looking forward to the summer. It’s going to be a big one for me.”