Orlando Magic: Should Victor Oladipo Play Point Guard?

Thursday night, the Orlando Magic drafted Indiana shooting guard Victor Oladipo with the second overall pick.

With Arron Afflalo, Doron Lamb, and E’Twaun Moore already on the roster, the shooting guard position has become redundant.  The selection of Oladipo has to make Magic fans wonder just what general manager Rob Hennigan has up his sleeve in regards to what he will do with Afflalo.  Afflalo is the subject of many trade rumors throughout the league and now that the Magic have Oladipo, it seems most likely that he has played his last game in a Magic uniform.  But has he?

The newest detail coming from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports via his Twitter account states the the Magic will run Oladipo exclusively as a point guard in the Orlando Pro Summer League beginning July 7.

Hennigan, who came over from the Oklahoma City Thunder, has vowed to re-shape the Magic following a similar model to what the Thunder used. In 2008, the Thunder drafted Russell Westbrook, the athletic guard out of UCLA with visions of him playing point guard. Though Westbrook still is not considered a prototypical NBA point guard, the fact is that he has grown into one of the top players in the league. His explosiveness is unmatched at the position, as we are seeing a transition from the pass-first point guard to the scoring point guard. Derrick Rose and Westbrook, both at 6’3”, are the leaders of this new movement.  Oladipo is 6’4” and with Wojnarowski’s latest tidbit, you would have to think Hennigan sees a similarity in Oladipo’s game to Westbrook’s.

Oladipo was easily the best athlete in his draft class and he already may be one of the best athletes in the league, reportedly with a 42-inch max vertical leap at the pre-draft combine in Chicago. There are concerns, though, with his ability to run an NBA offense, which is one of the things that Westbrook still struggles with at times. In the Thunder’s offense, Westbrook is basically asked to play two positions at the same time and his determination to always score can ruin the team’s offensive flow.

Similar to Westbrook, Oladipo can also attack the basket ferociously and finish way above the rim.  Westbrook is exceptional off the dribble and has one of the best mid-range jumpers in the game and this is the area where Oladipo has much room to improve. Though he improved dramatically from his freshman to sophomore year at Indiana, Oladipo is going to have to prove that he can hit jump shots consistently at the next level.  His ball-handling skills have improved as well and for somebody like Oladipo, who is labeled a gym rat, his work ethic does not need to be questioned. Draft experts already consider him to be the safest pick from this draft class.

Defensively, Oladipo may be better suited to guard point guards rather than shooting guards, as most shooting guards in the league stand 6’5” and taller. Another player he is being compared to is Tony Allen, who is one of the premier wing defenders in the league and is drawing interest from multiple teams in free agency. He has the ability to guard an opponent from one length of the floor to the other and not too many players are able to do that.

There are many components to Oladipo’s game that are a work in progress, but he offers a world of potential for the Magic franchise. This experiment with him playing point guard will be intriguing because Hennigan saw Westbrook blossom into the player he is running the point and now he envisions Oladipo the same way. He may not project as a star, but it is only a matter of time before he grows into a solid starting guard, whether its at point guard or shooting guard.