OKC Thunder: Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo Key In 2016-17
The OKC Thunder will need Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo to step up to help Russell Westbrook next season.
For a split second, it felt like the OKC Thunder were going to lose both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
After Durant opted to join the Warriors this offseason, the Thunder saw their other superstar in the midst of a poaching. Would Westbrook — a pending free agent the following offseason — be next to go?
Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers fans alike circled around twitter like piranhas, waiting for the pending deal.
One three-year contract extension later, the Lakers and Celtics talks are good and Russell Westbrook — bestowed with his own day in Oklahoma — will enter next season as a member of the Thunder and attempt to keep the Thunder afloat in the post-Durant era.
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For the interim, the Thunder can shelf any potential Westbrook trade talk and worry about the 2016-17 regular season, but there’s in lies the problem. The 2016 Thunder look vastly different than the 2015 Thunder.
Along with the aforementioned Durant, Serge Ibaka now finds himself in Orlando after a draft day trade.
In short: gone is one of the three best players in the league and a shot-blocking forward who can pull opposing big men to the outside with his three-point shooting.
Dreams of Oklahoma City making back to the Western Conference Finals lay at the knee of Westbrook, but if the Thunder are going to remain in the upper half of the West, he’ll need some help.
Enter Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo.
There are a handful of players the Oklahoma City Thunder can look towards for an improvement next season.
Second-year point guard Cameron Payne could emerge as a solid contributor off the bench, Andre Roberson could build on his postseason performance and become more of a three-and-D player, and I always had a soft spot for Mitch McGary.
However, the two guys that make the most sense for a leap forward are Adams and Oladipo.
After a quiet rookie season, we saw the evolution of Adams as a sophomore, averaging 7.7 points and 7.5 rebounds in 70 contests. Unlike Kendrick Perkins, Adams provided a bit more on the offensive end and his youth allowed him to provide more bounce on the defensive end.
That allowed him to create a nice one-two tandem with Ibaka on defense.
We saw the baby steps during the regular season – 8.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and a career-high 80 starts at center – but it was his playoff run that shined.
Adams averaged 10.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, shot 61 percent from the floor and had moments of brilliance against the Golden State Warriors. While he’s not the shooter Ibaka was, it was clear that Adams was becoming a better defender.
In a small-ball dominated league, Adams’ ability to defend on the perimeter allowed him to help against Golden State’s smaller lineups.
Meanwhile, Oladipo went through one of more up-and-down seasons last season. As the second overall pick, Oladipo was originally slotted in as Orlando’s point guard of the future. That fizzled out as Orlando tabbed Elfrid Payton to do the same thing.
An off-ball guard in Indiana, Oladipo assumed the same role, but Orlando couldn’t turn Oladipo’s production, nor anyone else’s, into victories.
Though he struggled, was shifted to the bench last season and finally traded, Oladipo still has some prospects as a strong overall player. The 24-year-old guard has made steps forward as a three-point shooter, knocking down 34 percent last season.
Never a true playmaker, Oladipo continues to provide value as a playmaker, averaging at least four assists over his last three seasons.
On the other side of the ball, Oladipo still has upside as a defender, even better than the positive DRPM he posted last season. Though slightly undersized at 6-foot-4, Oladipo uses his size, speed, and wingspan – a shade less than 6-foot-10 — to battle with wings on the perimeter, even some smaller wings.
‘Dipo and Andre Roberson at the wing spots could help hide some of Oklahoma City’s defensive woes on the perimeter, something they struggled with at times last season.
Both have positives, but they also have a ton to work on if they want to step forward.
With Adams, this will be the first season without Ibaka alongside him in the frontcourt.
Last season, Oklahoma City’s two most used lineups included the Ibaka-Adams pairing, playing 816 and 360 minutes. Those two lineups finished with defensive ratings of 95.6 and 99.8, per NBAstats.
Good numbers as a duo, but Adams wasn’t great as a rim protector last season. With Enes Kanter slated to get more playing time, can Adams help keep Oklahoma City afloat on defense without Ibaka?
Also curious if Adams can evolve as an offensive player. Last season, Adams shot just 53 percent on 30 post-up players, but 67 percent from the floor on cut plays – good for a 1.29 PPP – and 63 percent as a roll man.
It will be interesting to see if Adams can evolve into more of an offensive threat and improve on his numbers as a post player.
For Oladipo, it’s offensive production off the ball. Westbrook will, rightfully so, dominate the ball on offense, leaving Oladipo at times to fend for himself to find shots around him. Last season, Oladipo made 36 percent of his catch-and-shoot attempts and 35 percent on spot-up plays.
With Westbrook’s gravity around him, he might see more open threes, which should help him.
The Oklahoma City Thunder can quell this by giving Oladipo some time alongside Cameron Payne and in some non-Westbrook lineups, but in order for Oladipo to take a step forward as a player, becoming a threat from beyond the arc is vital for him to thrive in the next act of his career.
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If the Oklahoma City Thunder are to remain in the upper half of the Western Conference without Durant this season, Westbrook is going to need some help and Adams and Oladipo appear to be two ideal candidates to step up and help the Thunder maintain relevant in the Western Conference.