Official Speculation Thread (Pt.LXI Countdown To Preseason)

[magicman112]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Orlando_Magic/status/378301221624631296[/tweet]

Personally, I like it. I'm a fan of exciting combo guards: Westbrook, Wade, Gordon, Curry, Evans...

I see Victor being a more efficient version of Gilbert Arenas, honestly. Just my opinion, but as many times as I've seen the Wade comparison, I just dont see the handles or explosion YET, so hopefully I'm wrong.

Rob came from OKC where it worked with Westbrook and Dipo has similar abilities so he's seen it done before.

[thelead]

HAHA... I would love to find the reactions when I posted Oladipo as our sleeper pick (as a pg) before the draft.

[j-ragg]

He's not like Gilbert at all...


Gilbert was a much better ball handler and had no explosion to finish at the hoop. He had to get crafty down there. Relied A LOT on jump shooting.

Vic is kind of the opposite of of Arenas, though his shot does look much improved.

[SOUL]

early gil was pretty athletic. they also have similar forms / shots, but yeah they are different animals.

[tranjSAIC]

early gil was pretty athletic. they also have similar forms / shots, but yeah they are different animals.

Early Gil was definitely athletic, but not the explosive way Oladipo was. Gil had a lighting fast 1st step, but doesn't have the vertical explosion.

[tranjSAIC]

Orlando Magic ‏@Orlando_Magic 3h
The Magic's @VicOladipo: "To be honest, I really didn't want to go to Cleveland."

That's what Oladipo said. Here's what David Steele had to say about it.

David Steele ‏@SteeleMagic 2h
@VicOladipo's Cleveland remark was harmless banter. Was simply making the point that he REALLY wanted to be drafted by the #Magic.

No matter how he said it, that was kind of dumb of the Magic's twitter people to post that the way they did. I agree with David Steele though that he was most likely just saying how he really wanted to come to Orlando, so I really don't think it's a big deal.

I could be wrong, but I remember him saying something along the lines of the Cavs having a stacked backcourt all ready. Now that I think about it, it could have been either the Cavs or Wiz he said this about.

[Orlwillbeback]

Oladipo is the best athlete is a draft with a bunch of good athletes. This draft wasnt very good but it was stacked with athletes(they all really killed it at the combine). Oladipo's athleticism is evident in his ability to draw fouls in the summer league.

[Blue_and_Whte]

The question wasnt wether or not they would play him at both guard spots, the question was would he be successful at playing pg which the jury is still out on.

[thelead]

The question wasnt wether or not they would play him at both guard spots, the question was would he be successful at playing pg which the jury is still out on.

When I brought it up before the draft, it sure was an issue. Sure the jury is still out but it is on everyone on this team.

Can Jameer shoot a decent percentage without Dwight?
Can Harris maintain or surpass what he did last year?
Can Harkless improve his shot and handles?
Can Vuc continue to rebound at the same clip while adding more offense to his game?
Can Nicholson keep up on D and rebound better?
Can BBD accept a lesser role?
Can Afflalo?
Etc....

This year will definitely be interesting.

[InFlames]

Orlando Magic ‏@Orlando_Magic 3h
The Magic's @VicOladipo: "To be honest, I really didn't want to go to Cleveland."

That's what Oladipo said. Here's what David Steele had to say about it.

David Steele ‏@SteeleMagic 2h
@VicOladipo's Cleveland remark was harmless banter. Was simply making the point that he REALLY wanted to be drafted by the #Magic.

No matter how he said it, that was kind of dumb of the Magic's twitter people to post that the way they did. I agree with David Steele though that he was most likely just saying how he really wanted to come to Orlando, so I really don't think it's a big deal.

I could be wrong, but I remember him saying something along the lines of the Cavs having a stacked backcourt all ready. Now that I think about it, it could have been either the Cavs or Wiz he said this about.

That was Washington.

[Catledge]

The question wasnt wether or not they would play him at both guard spots, the question was would he be successful at playing pg which the jury is still out on.

When I brought it up before the draft, it sure was an issue. Sure the jury is still out but it is on everyone on this team.

Can Jameer shoot a decent percentage without Dwight?
Can Harris maintain or surpass what he did last year?
Can Harkless improve his shot and handles?
Can Vuc continue to rebound at the same clip while adding more offense to his game?
Can Nicholson keep up on D and rebound better?
Can BBD accept a lesser role?
Can Afflalo?
Etc....

This year will definitely be interesting.

That's actually a great list of questions. If we add "Can Oladipo be a productive pg for at least half of his minutes?" to the end of the list, here are my predictions (though I am, of course, hoping for the best in all cases):

Meer -- Yes, but only if he's held under 25 mpg
Harris -- Yes
Hark -- Only minimally
Vooch -- yes
Nicholson -- no
BBD -- yes
Afflalo -- yes
Dipo -- yes, though this is the prediction I'm least confident about

[Leopold Stoich]

If Oladipo can really hone in on his ball handling/security skills and try to not make a habit picking the ball up once passed half court he could be a decent point guard when matched up to the right opponent. I think he'll struggle being matched up to top tier point guards especially ones that play good D.

[KillMonger]

If Oladipo can really hone in on his ball handling/security skills and try to not make a habit picking the ball up once passed half court he could be a decent point guard when matched up to the right opponent. I think he'll struggle being matched up to top tier point guards especially ones that play good D.

point guards that can play good d? Yeah, you can count how many of those on one hand

Sent from my HTC One using my fingers

[Orlwillbeback]

If Oladipo can really hone in on his ball handling/security skills and try to not make a habit picking the ball up once passed half court he could be a decent point guard when matched up to the right opponent. I think he'll struggle being matched up to top tier point guards especially ones that play good D.

disagree dipo will be fine

These new athletic big pgs are the future of the league.

[Leopold Stoich]

If Oladipo can really hone in on his ball handling/security skills and try to not make a habit picking the ball up once passed half court he could be a decent point guard when matched up to the right opponent. I think he'll struggle being matched up to top tier point guards especially ones that play good D.

disagree dipo will be fine

These new athletic big pgs are the future of the league.

I understand but athleticism can only get you so far. If this were the case Dequan would still be playing for us because he was an athletic freak.



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[BadMofoPimp]

Dipo held his own against Durant. That should be telling that he is going to be at the very least, a starter in this league barring something crazy happening. He just has mad skills with good defense.

[Bo Outlaw]

DeQuan Jones signs with Kings.

I hope he makes the team!

[Tayswagzzz]

DeQuan Jones signs with Kings.

I hope he makes the team!

Dunk Master Jones

[OrlDave]

If Oladipo can really hone in on his ball handling/security skills and try to not make a habit picking the ball up once passed half court he could be a decent point guard when matched up to the right opponent. I think he'll struggle being matched up to top tier point guards especially ones that play good D.

disagree dipo will be fine

These new athletic big pgs are the future of the league.

I understand but athleticism can only get you so far. If this were the case Dequan would still be playing for us because he was an athletic freak.



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This is a red herring of an argument. There is a reason Dipo was taken #2 (or Westbrook at 4) and DqJ was undrafted. Every player is a mix of skill and athleticism. The Lebron James' of the world have 10s in each, but say a Steven Nash is a 10 in skills, but maybe a 7 in athleticism. Going to more athletic PGs doesn't mean you just get an unskilled athletic guy to play pg.

[rcklsscognition]

Good news, Ebanks signed with the Mavs. Diawara also signed elsewhere after working out for us.