Player of the Day: Steven Funaki Adams

[Andre Roberstan]

As promised, I'm starting a Player of the Day series to tide us over through the long offseason. With weekend skips it should eat at least a little of the time leading up to training camp. Hope you guys enjoy.

SCHEDULE:
Week 1: Starters
Aug 28: Russell Westbrook
Aug 29: Paul George
Aug 30: Steven Adams
Aug 31: Patrick Patterson
Sept 1: Andre Roberson

Week 2: Bench
Sept 4: Enes Kanter
Sept 5: Alejandro Abrines
Sept 6: Raymond Felton
Sept 7: Jerami Grant
Sept 8: Doug McDermott

Week 3: Deep Bench
Sept 11: Terrance Ferguson
Sept 12: Dakari Johnson
Sept 13: Semaj Christon
Sept 14: Josh Huestis
Sept 15: Kyle Singler

Week 4: Odds and Ends
Sept 16: Daniel Hamilton
Sept 17: Billy Donovan
Sept 18: Sam Presti
Sept 19: TBD
Sept 20: TBD



http://www.nba.com/playerfile/steven_adams/
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/adamsst01.html

24 years old
Drafted 2013 out of Pitt with the 12th pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder
7'
255lb

1x NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team

Questions for the upcoming season:

1: What do you expect him to average, particularly given the increased spacing?
2: What do you think he's added to his game? Will he extend his range?
3: Can he live up to the salary he's been given now that the bottom has dropped out of the center market?
4: Is he the 3rd most important player on the roster?
5: What do you think is the most important thing for him to add to his game?
6: Should the Thunder view him as untouchable?

and any others you want to add

[bondom34]

I'm awful at guessing stats but I still think he can be in MIP running and has increased his range. I don't know if he should be totally untouchable but darn near it and I think he lives up to the salary this year with more space on offense and another vet big man defender.

[ThunderBolt]

I don't know if he'll ever live up to his salary. I think last year will be looked at as the year of horrible deals. I'm really hoping he takes a big step forward because that's our only hope of really being a contender. I don't think he should be untradeable if he plays like he did last year.

[retrobro90]

Without a doubt the 3rd best player on our roster. I have no idea what he'll average but I don't think the majority of his impact will ever be something thats tallied in the box score regardless of spacing. I kind of like his range right now tbh. I've seen him shoot jumpers in practice videos and I just think that if he's only extending to the elbows then his release is too slow. It's easier to have a slow release as a shooter if you can extend out to the 3pt line or deep midrange but when you're just at the elbow you need to get your shot off quick. I'd rather he just continues to polish that flip shot and work on his hooks and post moves for situations when he has to shoot outside the restricted area.

He's not untouchable but there are not many players I'd trade him for honestly. Even star C's. I go back and forth on whether I'd do a swap for M. Gasol or Boogie. Really don't think I would trade him for Deandre. We just have to see what Adams is in these first few months of the season to really get a gauge on what he's worth and if he's worth trading.

I don't know if he'll ever live up to that salary but I think he would have been the best C on the market if he was an RFA this summer. There's no question he's a better player than Noel and he got offered a deal in the 70mil range.

[Kizz Fastfists]

1: What do you expect him to average, particularly given the increased spacing?
2: What do you think he's added to his game? Will he extend his range?
3: Can he live up to the salary he's been given now that the bottom has dropped out of the center market?
4: Is he the 3rd most important player on the roster?
5: What do you think is the most important thing for him to add to his game?
6: Should the Thunder view him as untouchable?

1) 12 pts, 8 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 ast in 26 MPG shooting 58% from the field and 65% from the line.

2) He will be better from mid-range, 10-16 ft, but not enough for people to get excited about. Improving from 37% to 40% will be improvement, but no one will want him to actually shoot the shot consistently.

3) It depends on if you believe defense has value. If you do he will live up to his contract. If you think Kanter is an acceptable defender than Adams is grossly overpaid.

4) No. He is the 2nd most important. If he goes down there is no one on the roster that can even pretend to fill the void, especially on the defensive end, at center.

5) A mid-range game. If he can become a solid 45% shooter on shots away from the rim out to 16ish feet he could be better than Marc Gasol.

6) No one is untouchable. It would take an offer that I don't see anyone making to take him off the team this year or a complete disaster, i.e. injuries have the team start 4-30, where the team gets blown up.

[ThunderBolt]

These two articles basically put Adams progress, or lack thereof, on our coaching staff.
https://thunderousintentions.com/2017/09/05/steven-adams-important-okc-thunder/
https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2017/9/5/16255562/sounds-of-thunder-oklahoma-city-thunder-steven-adams-post-problems-fundamental

[Mick75]

Great article but also a little bit frightening. Thanks for sharing.

[sleestak33]

Adams is simply never going to amount to much more than what we've seen because he can't shoot with any consistency outside of a few feet and can't consistently create his own offense. He's a pretty good defender (although he's way overrated in that department as he still gets lit up fairly consistently), an average rebounder and a below average offensive player who becomes around average if teammates look to set him up more. His game regressed dramatically the last half of the season though and he was completely nonexistent in the postseason when they needed him to step his game up. Don't get me wrong I think he's an ok player but he clearly wasn't worth that 100 million dollar contract. Being that this will be his 5th year in the league I just don't get why people think he's somehow going to get much better. He's had 4 years to develop and the last half of the season he clearly got worse. His ceiling is 12/8 and that's just pretty much how it is.

[sleestak33]

Without a doubt the 3rd best player on our roster. I have no idea what he'll average but I don't think the majority of his impact will ever be something thats tallied in the box score regardless of spacing. I kind of like his range right now tbh. I've seen him shoot jumpers in practice videos and I just think that if he's only extending to the elbows then his release is too slow. It's easier to have a slow release as a shooter if you can extend out to the 3pt line or deep midrange but when you're just at the elbow you need to get your shot off quick. I'd rather he just continues to polish that flip shot and work on his hooks and post moves for situations when he has to shoot outside the restricted area.

He's not untouchable but there are not many players I'd trade him for honestly. Even star C's. I go back and forth on whether I'd do a swap for M. Gasol or Boogie. Really don't think I would trade him for Deandre. We just have to see what Adams is in these first few months of the season to really get a gauge on what he's worth and if he's worth trading.

I don't know if he'll ever live up to that salary but I think he would have been the best C on the market if he was an RFA this summer. There's no question he's a better player than Noel and he got offered a deal in the 70mil range.

That's funny...so a guy who averaged 11.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in 30 minutes per game is somehow better than a guy who averaged 14 points and 6 rebounds in only 21 minutes (Kanter). Kanter clearly is a far superior scorer and rebounder. Adams most certainly is NOT the 3rd best player on this roster and his game regressed the 2nd half of the season and especially in the playoffs. Kanter is the 3rd best player by a wide margin and he actually averages more points per minute than Paul George.

[actively]

Only those who like Steven almost allways writes negatively here on Kanter, though both are young learn from each other as a teammate and benefit from eachother.

[bondom34]

Yes because we've seen many times one guy is just awful vs good teams and the other has been largely great. Unless you literally only care about scoring

[Marcus50]

Without a doubt the 3rd best player on our roster. I have no idea what he'll average but I don't think the majority of his impact will ever be something thats tallied in the box score regardless of spacing. I kind of like his range right now tbh. I've seen him shoot jumpers in practice videos and I just think that if he's only extending to the elbows then his release is too slow. It's easier to have a slow release as a shooter if you can extend out to the 3pt line or deep midrange but when you're just at the elbow you need to get your shot off quick. I'd rather he just continues to polish that flip shot and work on his hooks and post moves for situations when he has to shoot outside the restricted area.

He's not untouchable but there are not many players I'd trade him for honestly. Even star C's. I go back and forth on whether I'd do a swap for M. Gasol or Boogie. Really don't think I would trade him for Deandre. We just have to see what Adams is in these first few months of the season to really get a gauge on what he's worth and if he's worth trading.

I don't know if he'll ever live up to that salary but I think he would have been the best C on the market if he was an RFA this summer. There's no question he's a better player than Noel and he got offered a deal in the 70mil range.

That's funny...so a guy who averaged 11.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in 30 minutes per game is somehow better than a guy who averaged 14 points and 6 rebounds in only 21 minutes (Kanter). Kanter clearly is a far superior scorer and rebounder. Adams most certainly is NOT the 3rd best player on this roster and his game regressed the 2nd half of the season and especially in the playoffs. Kanter is the 3rd best player by a wide margin and he actually averages more points per minute than Paul George.

Only if you think defense is not a skill requirement is Kanterbetter than Adams. Adams operated without any spacing last year as defenses did not bother marking OKC's perimeter shooters and collapsed into the paint. I expect a 2 point improvement and 2 rebounds per game improvement assuming Russ is not chasing a triple double average again.

[ThunderBolt]

After reading the Rudy Gobert thread on the the GB, how much better is Gobert than Adams? Can Adams reach his level this year? Steven is almost a year (11 months) younger. Last year is when Gobert really took his leap forward.

http://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3032976/rudy-gobert

http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2991235

[bondom34]

https://fansided.com/2017/09/20/25-under-25-steven-adams-thunder-14/

[Pillendreher]

After reading the Rudy Gobert thread on the the GB, how much better is Gobert than Adams? Can Adams reach his level this year? Steven is almost a year (11 months) younger. Last year is when Gobert really took his leap forward.

http://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3032976/rudy-gobert

http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2991235

I doubt it. While I don't buy into the 'Rudy Gobert is a star' talk, Adams would have to make a significant jump defensively. Maybe he will, who knows. He definitely needs to be better.

[RalphSampsonJr]

Without a doubt the 3rd best player on our roster. I have no idea what he'll average but I don't think the majority of his impact will ever be something thats tallied in the box score regardless of spacing. I kind of like his range right now tbh. I've seen him shoot jumpers in practice videos and I just think that if he's only extending to the elbows then his release is too slow. It's easier to have a slow release as a shooter if you can extend out to the 3pt line or deep midrange but when you're just at the elbow you need to get your shot off quick. I'd rather he just continues to polish that flip shot and work on his hooks and post moves for situations when he has to shoot outside the restricted area.

He's not untouchable but there are not many players I'd trade him for honestly. Even star C's. I go back and forth on whether I'd do a swap for M. Gasol or Boogie. Really don't think I would trade him for Deandre. We just have to see what Adams is in these first few months of the season to really get a gauge on what he's worth and if he's worth trading.

I don't know if he'll ever live up to that salary but I think he would have been the best C on the market if he was an RFA this summer. There's no question he's a better player than Noel and he got offered a deal in the 70mil range.

That's funny...so a guy who averaged 11.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in 30 minutes per game is somehow better than a guy who averaged 14 points and 6 rebounds in only 21 minutes (Kanter). Kanter clearly is a far superior scorer and rebounder. Adams most certainly is NOT the 3rd best player on this roster and his game regressed the 2nd half of the season and especially in the playoffs. Kanter is the 3rd best player by a wide margin and he actually averages more points per minute than Paul George.

Do people in this day and age reaaallly think Kanter is better than Adams?!

Why is this still an arguement?!? And why does it get brought up every time anyone wants to talk about either one?
if Kanter was better he would of played all the minutes come playoff time and it would of been Adams riding the pine

[ThunderBolt]

If this year Adams takes the step we wanted last year, we could be VERY good.

[RalphSampsonJr]

If this year Adams takes the step we wanted last year, we could be VERY good.

If Adams takes that Rudy Gobert leap this year.. can someone say "big 4"???!?!?

[bondom34]

https://fansided.com/2017/09/27/steven-adams-pick-and-roll-thunder-george-anthony/

Sing it

[oken]

https://fansided.com/2017/09/27/steven-adams-pick-and-roll-thunder-george-anthony/

Sing it

You know what to do with the lyrics.

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