Victor Oladipo Crush-a-lot

[ImWithDan]

Question (because all I know right now is draft express highlight videos): Who has the potential to be a better defender, Oladipo or Porter?

Hard to argue about how badly this team needs a great defender on the perimeter.

I think it is clearly Oladipo.

His sprint (3.25) and lane agility (10.69) were very good, in the top 10 players overall. Throw in his 42 inch max vert and there's quite a bit of separation there.

Porter was a good help side defender in college but he never excelled in 1 on 1 situations.

He can likely guard just 1 position, the 3 and I think he'll only be average (especially early on) because of his size (sub 200 lbs).

He'll be a good help side guy because he's long and a little above average athletically but on the ball, I don't think he's going to provide much until he gets stronger.

[Qasim Mitchell]

I think it is clearly Oladipo.

His sprint (3.25) and lane agility (10.69) were very good, in the top 10 players overall. Throw in his 42 inch max vert and there's quite a bit of separation there.

Porter was a good help side defender in college but he never excelled in 1 on 1 situations.

He can likely guard just 1 position, the 3 and I think he'll only be average (especially early on) because of his size (sub 200 lbs).

He'll be a good help side guy because he's long and a little above average athletically but on the ball, I don't think he's going to provide much until he gets stronger.

[The Voice]

The only scenario that avoids both is VO growing 3 inches.

The point of that post was to illustrate that VO would be on the court with a creator every minute he played, thus eliminating the need for him to have an incredibly polished offensive game.

The wildest arguments against him seem to come from people who say he'll be an offensive liability and that he'll have issues creating his own shots.

I was pointing out that concern is mitigated a bit if he has two players on his team that are very good at breaking down defenders 1 on 1. It presents offensive opportunities via catch and shoot, cuts off the ball, lobs, etc. Ways to manufacture offense without having the ball. Throw in that during crunch time, he'd likely be playing with both and I just don't think it's a huge concern. Not when considering the defensive culture change he could provide on the perimeter.

Oladipo clearly needs to improve a few facets of his offensive game but the potential is there. He's improved his midrange and long range shooting stroke dramatically and although that clearly plateaus at some point, I still think there's wiggle room for him getting even better. Ballhandling is the only thing you look at a get a bit uneasy but that is more of a repetition thing. It doesn't really take a ton of skill to become an above average ball handler, just an emphasis on it and enough hours. It's far easier to see a dramatic improvement there than in someone's shooting stroke, which is more mechanical.

If we could have anyone grow 3" and draft them it wouldn't be either of them. It would be McLemore. Assuming Len and Noel are out of the question on that type of growth spurt.

[amil99]

Something about him reminds me of Christian eyenga...

[The Voice]

Something about him reminds me of Christian eyenga...

His last name is weird and he plays basketball? That's the only similarities.

[amil99]

Maybe that's it

[Zombie dmhtfld]

They both have a 40+ inch vertical.