Victor Oladipo

Thunder Sign Victor Oladipo To Extension

October 31st, 2016 at 11:12pm CST by Luke Adams

11:12pm: The Thunder have officially signed Oladipo to an extension, the team announced today in a press release.

2:52pm: The Thunder have agreed to a four-year extension with Victor Oladipo in advance of tonight’s deadline, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. Oladipo’s new deal, which will go into effect in 2017/18, is expected to be worth $84MM, per Charania.

A former second overall pick out of Indiana, Oladipo was part of the trade that sent to Serge Ibaka to Orlando in June, heading to Oklahoma City in the deal along with Domantas Sabonis and Ersan Ilyasova. Reports in the summer suggested that Oladipo might be seeking a maximum-salary contract, but the Thunder were able to lock him up at a lower rate, ensuring that he’ll stay off the free agent market next summer.

Oladipo, 24, was one of the primary scorers for the Magic during his three years with the team, averaging 15.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.6 SPG in 224 regular-season contests. In his first three games with the Thunder, he has averaged 17.0 PPG on a FG% of just .340, though that’s obviously a very small sample size.

The Thunder completed their acquisition of Oladipo before Kevin Durant finalized his decision to leave Oklahoma City for Golden State, and the team had viewed the former Magic guard as a nice fit alongside Durant. However, the club remains optimistic about its backcourt duo of Oladipo and Russell Westbrook, who each provide plenty of tenacity and energy on both sides of the ball. Westbook received an extension from the Thunder this offseason as well, so the two standout guards will be given every opportunity to thrive together for the next couple years.

With Oladipo secured, the Thunder can shift their focus today to Steven Adams and Andre Roberson, who are also eligible to sign rookie-scale extension before the deadline of midnight eastern time. As we learned earlier today, OKC is in talks with Adams on a potential four-year, $100MM extension, and there’s growing optimism that the two sides can hammer out a deal. The team is also engaged in negotiations with Roberson, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Teams can be reluctant to lock up their potential restricted free agents to big-money extensions ahead of free agency, since keeping a modestly-priced cap hold on their books for a week or two the following July can give them additional flexibility to use cap room in free agency. However, as a former No. 2 overall pick, Oladipo would have had a large cap hold next summer as a restricted free agent, so his deal shouldn’t hinder OKC’s flexibility significantly.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Extension Negotiations

October 30th, 2016 at 1:42pm CST by Will Joseph

The Thunder is negotiating extensions with representatives for Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). Discussions are in the $100MM range for Adams, and the $80MM range for Oladipo. Our own Luke Adams examined the extension candidacy of Adams recently, while Arthur Hill looked at Oladipo’s situation.

There’s more extension chatter as the October 31st deadline draws near:

It is still unlikely that deals for Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee and Tim Hardaway Jr. will get done before the midnight deadline, Wojnarowski tweets.
The Wolves are in talks with Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, while the Hornets are talking about a deal with Cody Zeller, Wojnarowski relays (Twitter link). The Jazz are also in discussions with Rudy Gobert.
The Kings will extend a qualifying offer to Ben McLemore after the season, and the team is still not looking to trade him, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets.

Stein’s Latest: Extensions, Jazz, Cavs, J.R. Smith

October 14th, 2016 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Within his latest piece for ESPN.com, NBA insider Marc Stein takes a look around the league to attempt to determine which players entering the final year of their rookie scale contracts are most likely to sign extensions before the October 31 deadline. As Stein points out, the uncertainty surrounding the CBA may make some players or teams reluctant to finalize a new deal that won’t go into effect until next summer, but there are still a few extension candidates worth monitoring.

According to Stein, Jazz center Rudy Gobert is viewed as the most likely candidate to be extended this month — Utah wants to lock up both Gobert and Derrick Favors to long-term deals, recognizing that securing those players could help convince Gordon Hayward to re-sign next summer. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Pistons), Gorgui Dieng (Timberwolves), and Shabazz Muhammad (Timberwolves) are also in play for potential extensions, says Stein.

Here’s more from the ESPN scribe:

It’s not clear how eager the Thunder will be to get something done with Steven Adams and/or Victor Oladipo before October 31, since the team may be enticed by the possibility of maintaining 2017 cap room, Stein notes. Oklahoma City could take the same approach the Wizards and Pistons did with Bradley Beal and Andre Drummond, respectively, waiting to extend them in order to maximize cap room. Of course, waiting until 2017 would almost certainly mean doing max deals for Adams and/or Oladipo.
As high as they are on Dennis Schroder‘s potential, the Hawks may want to see how he handles the starting point guard job in Jeff Teague‘s absence before committing to a long-term deal, Stein writes. In that case, an extension this month seems unlikely.
The Cavaliers had been offering a $10-11MM annual salary to J.R. Smith, and while it’s possible they’ve increased their offer, it hasn’t been enough to entice Smith to sign. Sources tell Stein “it’s only a matter of time” before the free agent guard starts to engage more seriously with other teams.
While they don’t have the cap room for him at this point, the Celtics‘ reported interest in Smith is genuine, according to Stein, who suggests Boston could explore moving some salary to another team in order to create space for Smith.
There are whispers that the Cavaliers have “strong interest” in bringing Mario Chalmers aboard when he’s healthy enough to play, per Stein. Chalmers, who remains on the free agent market, continues to recover from Achilles surgery.
The Jazz don’t appear inclined to add anyone to their roster as a temporary fill-in while Gordon Hayward’s broken finger heals, Stein writes.

Northwest Notes: Exum, Oladipo, Wolters, Garnett

September 25th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jazz point guard Dante Exum proclaims himself fully healed from the ACL injury that wiped out last season, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Exum suffered the injury in August of 2015 while playing for the Australian national team and says the mental anguish was worse than the physical pain. “There were plenty of times where I wondered, why me,” Exum told The Tribune. “I wondered if I would be the guy I was before the injury. I was supposed to go home to Australia the next day, and I hadn’t been home in a year. I wondered, what’s going to happen with the Jazz? That was the pain I was going through.” With Utah’s training camp opening this week, Exum says his knee feels stronger than ever and his speed, leaping ability and explosive first step have all returned. Exum, who started 41 games during his rookie season, will ease back into the NBA in a reserve role after the Jazz made an offseason deal for George Hill.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

For several years, the Thunder have tried to surround their stars with “3-and-D” players, but Victor Oladipo tells Erik Horne of The Oklahoman that he wants to be more than that. Oladipo, who came to Oklahoma City in a draft-day trade involving Serge Ibaka, is expected to start alongside MVP candidate Russell Westbrook in the OKC backcourt, but he doesn’t see himself as just a complementary player. “I don’t just want to be a three-point shooter. I don’t just want to be a defensive stopper,” Oladipo said. “I want to be one of the best players in this league, and in order to do that, you have to affect the game on both ends and do multiple things.”
Coming off an impressive season in Turkey, Nate Wolters is hoping to work his way back into the NBA with the Nuggets, relays Jake Rauchbach of Basketball Insiders. The 38th pick in the 2013 draft, Wolters spent two seasons with the Bucks and Pelicans before heading overseas last year. He is projected as the fourth point guard on Denver’s roster, but is hoping to make an impression at training camp. “When you’re trying to make a team, there is kind of a fine line between trying to do too much and proving yourself,” Wolters said. “But still, at the same time, you want to be aggressive so they notice you a little bit. [I’ll] just try to run the team and then kind of pick my spots when I feel like I can be aggressive and try to make plays.”
Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau has issued a statement honoring Kevin Garnett upon his retirement, relays The Star-Tribune. “Kevin will always be remembered for the way in which he played the game,” Thibodeau said. “His fierce competitiveness, his unequaled passion for the game and the many ways in which he cared about this team was truly special. KG is without question the all-time best player to wear a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey, and he is also one of the best ever to play this game.’’

Thunder Notes: Westbrook, McGary, Presti, Oladipo

September 24th, 2016 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Russell Westbrook‘s efforts to become a more vocal leader have already given him laryngitis, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. The star point guard could barely speak after the first of two practices today, a result of his plan to talk more on the court in the absence of Kevin Durant. That commitment to leadership started with the three-year extension Westbrook signed in August, one month after Durant announced that he was leaving for the Warriors. “He, I think, is setting a tone in terms of that, at least from a defensive standpoint, we’ve got to communicate,” coach Billy Donovan said of Westbrook. “And I think when you’re the caliber of player like Russell who’s doing it every single time and communicating it and expressing and pointing out the value and the importance of that, I think it carries a large weight.”

There’s more news from Oklahoma City:

Mitch McGary vows he has “turned over a new leaf” after two drug suspensions this summer that will sideline him for the season’s first 15 games, relays Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. McGary confirmed that the five-game ban he received this summer was for failing a drug test, while the 10-game suspension imposed last week was for not taking enough tests to comply with the NBA’s drug program. The third-year center may be near the end of his time in Oklahoma City. He is guaranteed more than $1.5MM this season, but has a team option worth more than $2.4MM for 2017/18. “I’d love to stay with this organization,” McGary said. “This is hands down like the best organization that had treats for you, cares for you, does everything for you, pretty much hand feeds you. I’ve known that from guys around the league have said this is the organization to be with, so obviously I don’t want to leave.”
“Disappointed” was the word GM Sam Presti used to describe his reaction to McGary’s latest drug issues, according to Cliff Brunt of The Associated Press. Presti also insinuated that the Thunder have lost patience with McGary. “We’re not privy to the NBA’s program, so I don’t have a whole lot of information,” Presti said. “All I can say to you is that I’m disappointed. Then from there, I don’t think I have to expand past that.”
Victor Oladipo said he had thoughts about joining the Thunder a year before the draft-day trade from Orlando. In a video posted on The Oklahoman’s website, the new OKC guard addresses a number of topics, including his longtime interest in joining the Thunder. “I literally thought about being here a year ago,” Oladipo said, “and thought what it would be like to be on this team. And for it to actually happen is a surreal experience, and I know that it’s supposed to be the way it is now.”

Community Shootaround: OKC Extension Candidates

September 20th, 2016 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Of all the players eligible for a rookie-scale extension this year, Giannis Antetokounmpo was the nearest to a lock for a maximum-salary deal. However, rather than playing hardball with the Bucks or potentially risking changes to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement by the time he signed his new contract, Antetokounmpo agreed to an extension this week that will pay him less than the maximum. One report indicated that The Greek Freak wanted to help Milwaukee retain talent going forward.

With Antetokounmpo having settled for less than the max, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman wonders if two Thunder extension candidates – Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo – could be persuaded to do the same. While neither player is a bona-fide NBA star, the league’s rising salary cap and relative dearth of young, top-tier free agents means that both players are good bets to get a max offer if they reach restricted free agency in 2017. Whether or not either of them will receive an offer like that from the Thunder by this year’s October 31 extension deadline remains to be seen.

As Horne notes, Oladipo is reportedly seeking a max deal, while Adams has off-handedly stated that he’ll play negotiations “by ear.” We’ve examined the extension candidacy of both Oladipo and Adams, pointing out that if the Thunder want to be players in free agency in 2017, it might make sense to hold off on extensions for the duo. However, in that scenario, Oklahoma City would be more likely to have to pay the max to keep one or both players.

It also remains to be seen which player will be valued more highly by the Thunder. Adams has become a cornerstone frontcourt player for the franchise, particularly after the trade of Serge Ibaka, and his toughness and rim-protecting ability would be hard to replace. Oladipo, on the other hand, was the key piece of that Ibaka trade, and could be the backcourt partner for Russell Westbrook that OKC has long been seeking.

What do you think? Will either Adams or Oladipo be extended within the next few weeks, or will they head to restricted free agency next summer? If one or both of them signs an extension, will the Thunder be able to lock them up at a reasonable price, avoiding the max?

Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the Thunder’s pair of of extension candidates. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Extension Candidate: Victor Oladipo

August 12th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder won’t get to watch Victor Oladipo as part of their team for very long before having to make an important decision. The 6-4 combo guard, who was acquired from the Magic in a draft-day trade, will be entering his fourth NBA season this fall, making him eligible for a rookie scale extension.

The extension deadline is October 31st, and Oklahoma City has just three regular season games before that date arrives. So the Thunder front office will have to base its decision largely on the three productive seasons Oladipo had in Orlando before the deal was made.

After being taken second overall in the 2013 draft, Oladipo developed quickly with the Magic, playing 80 games as a rookie and starting 44. His best season came in 2014/15, when he started 71 of the 72 games he appeared in and averaged 17.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per night. His scoring average dipped to 16.0 last season and he suffered two concussions and battled a variety of other injuries, starting just 52 of the 72 games he played.

But the Thunder saw enough that they liked in Oladipo to give up Serge Ibaka, one of the cornerstones of their recent success, to add him to their roster, along with veteran power forward Ersan Ilyasova and the rights to rookie big man Domantas Sabonis. Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti explained the move at a press conference on draft night, saying the Thunder will benefit from Oladipo’s competitive attitude.

“I think the number one thing with Victor is his make-up,” Presti said about his new guard. “… He is tough-minded, he’s competitive, he’s selfless. He is a guy that we really feel like not only brings things on the floor for us, but I think he’s going to be a real add to our environment, our culture on an everyday basis.”

Presti also said he was intrigued by Oladipo’s ability to play multiple positions, noting that his flexibility will give coach Billy Donovan more options when it comes to designing lineups.

But if the Thunder hope to keep Oladipo as a long-term backcourt partner for Russell Westbrook, they will need to make a significant salary commitment, whether it comes by October 31st or next offseason. Oladipo has made no secret about his desire for a full maximum extension, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

The former Indiana Hoosiers star was paid roughly $4.7MM, $4.9MM and $5.1MM during his first three years in the NBA and will receive a little more than $6.5MM next season. A maximum deal would bring his salary close to $24MM for 2017/18, with annual raises as high as 7.5% to follow.

Oklahoma City has a recent history of not giving rookie extensions to guards who were eligible to receive them. In 2014/15, the Thunder couldn’t reach a deal with combo guard Reggie Jackson and wound up trading him to the Pistons. Last year, OKC let the extension deadline pass for shooting guard Dion Waiters. The Thunder pulled their qualifying offer to Waiters last month, freeing him up to sign with the Heat.

But the Thunder front office is expected to try much harder to reach a deal with Oladipo, considering the price they paid to acquire him. Giving up Ibaka, who helped make Oklahoma City one of the league’s best teams during his seven seasons with the franchise, suggests that Oladipo will be an important part of the team’s long-term plans.

If the sides can’t reach an agreement before Halloween, Oladipo will become a restricted free agent after the season, joining center Steven Adams and shooting guard Andre Roberson in that category. With Adams coming off a breakthrough season and also likely to be in the market for a max or near-max deal next summer, it may be in the Thunder’s best interests to reach a deal with Oladipo before the deadline arrives.

The contract situations of Oladipo and Adams led the Thunder to be conservative in free agency this offseason, once Kevin Durant announced that he was leaving for Golden State. Other than re-signing and extending Westbrook, OKC’s only significant offseason moves were to bring back veteran Anthony Morrow at $3.4MM and sign Spanish star Alex Abrines for nearly $6MM.

The Thunder are in a unique situation as they address their short- and long-term future. The loss of Durant means they aren’t an elite NBA power any more, but the deal with Westbrook should keep them in playoff contention and may give them a shot at hosting a first-round series. Oladipo, at age 24, and Adams, at 23, are expected to be part of the core in Oklahoma City as the team tries to establish a new identity. Over the next year, it will be in the Thunder’s best interests to keep them both happy and lock them down with new contracts for as long as possible.

Photo courtesy of Mike DiNovo / USA TODAY Sports Images

And-Ones: Beal, Oladipo, Gasol, Gobert

August 3rd, 2016 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Turnover among NBA coaches has been extremely high over the past few seasons, with only four current head coaches having been with their respective teams for at least five seasons. Just this calendar year alone there have been 12 new coaching hires made, with more likely to come if some teams get off to rocky starts to the 2016/17 season. Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders ran down the coaches who are under the most pressure to perform well this coming campaign, including Alvin Gentry (Pelicans), Steve Kerr (Warriors) and Quin Snyder (Jazz).

Here’s more from around the league:

Each season there are a number of players who exceed expectations or fail to live up to the hype or their previous season’s performance. Looking ahead to 2016/17, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders weighed in on who he believes will have bounce back seasons (ie: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal, Joakim Noah) and those who will disappoint (ie: Kyle Korver, Pau Gasol).
With most offseason moves now officially in the books, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider Subscription required) broke down the teams he believes to be winners. Franchises getting high marks from the scribe include the Warriors, Celtics, Cavs and Wolves.
Teams have until October 31st to work out extensions with eligible players and Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com notes that the most likely candidates to reach new agreements prior to the deadline are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Oladipo, Rudy Gobert, Dennis Schroder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Lowe’s Latest: Magic, Vucevic, Oladipo, Sixers

July 26th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

In Zach Lowe’s latest column for ESPN.com, he examines the Magic‘s offseason moves, attempting to make sense of some of the club’s unusual decisions. After investing huge money into Bismack Biyombo and sending a significant trade package to the Thunder for Serge Ibaka, Orlando has a roster that appears a little heavy on frontcourt talent, and one that lacks offensive playmakers.

As Lowe details, the Magic may attempt to roll out a lineup that features Biyombo at center, Ibaka at power forward, and Aaron Gordon at the three in a Paul George-type role, per new head coach Frank Vogel. That would give the team impressive length, athleticism, and rim protection in the frontcourt, but it remains to be seen whether it would be effective against NBA teams that are increasingly reliant on three-pointers and perimeter talent.

Lowe’s piece also includes a handful of interesting tidbits of information he has gleaned from league sources, so let’s round those up…

Despite the logjam up front, the Magic are in no rush to trade Nikola Vucevic, writes Lowe. Given the team’s lack of pure scorers, but Orlando might want to keep Vucevic around to take advantage of his offensive prowess and his ability to pass in the post.
Vucevic believes he should be the starting center, but hasn’t been promised anything yet, and acknowledges that the newly-signed Biyombo is making a few million dollars more per year than him. “Do I wish I were a free agent now?” Vucevic said, referring to new contracts signed by Biyombo and others. “Yes. But I can’t do anything about it. I’m happy guys are getting paid, and in the normal world, it’s still a lot of money. I mean, I’ll never spend all that money.”
Victor Oladipo, traded by Orlando to the Thunder in the Ibaka deal, is seeking a maximum-salary contract extension for now, sources tell Lowe. That asking price likely played a role in the Magic‘s decision to move him, if the club was unwilling to go that high to lock him up.
Before signing Biyombo, the Magic were “sniffing around” the possibility of signing Joakim Noah at around the same price, according to Lowe. The two veteran bigs ultimately received similar deals, and will both count for $17MM against the cap in year one.
As an aside in his story on the Magic, Lowe also provides an update on the Sixers, reporting that most of Sam Hinkie‘s old regime – including his “handpicked analytics crew” – is expected to be gone from Philadelphia by the end of August.

Western Notes: Oladipo, Beasley, Cuban, Parsons

July 24th, 2016 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Victor Oladipo had 10 days to enjoy being teammates with Kevin Durant, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. That was the time between Oladipo’s arrival in Oklahoma City in a draft-night trade and Durant’s departure for Golden State as a free agent. But now that the shock of Durant’s decision is starting to wear off, Oladipo looks forward to helping the Thunder rebuild. He will team with one of the best point guards in the game in Russell Westbrook and a young roster that inclues Enes Kanter (24), Steven Adams (23), Andre Roberson (24), Cameron Payne (22) and Alex Abrines (22). “We could do something really special,” Oladipo said. “I really believe we can. I think it’s gonna be crazy to watch, crazy to be a part of. We could overwhelm guys on both ends of the floor.”

There’s more tonight from the Western Conference:

At 27 and with a job already secured, the Rockets‘ Michael Beasley seemed out of place on a summer league roster. But Beasley played just one game before settling into the role of a mentor, and he tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that he has a lot to share with younger players. Beasley was the second pick in the 2008 draft, but off-court incidents and issues with defense forced him out of the league. He signed with the Rockets late last season after playing in China. “I’ve been one to take my game seriously, but it’s just a little more special, a little more precious, just slow down and enjoy the ride this time,” Beasley said. “My first time, I was 19, 20 years old, I thought I knew everything and y’all gave me all the money in the world, so I wasn’t thinking to look at y’all [in the eye] anymore. I’m doing it the right way this time, slowing down, enjoying the process, falling in love with the process. You see young players and I try to give them a little bit of what I learned and what I’ve been through.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he and Chandler Parsons remain friends even though the free agent forward decided to sign with the Grizzlies, relays The Dallas Morning News. In an interview on 105.3-FM The Fan’s “Ben and Skin Show,” Cuban said “things other than basketball” factored into the decision. “We gave him some options and he went in a different direction,” Cuban said. “That was his choice and I respect it and again, I think he’s a great guy and I hope he has a great season other than the four games we play him.”

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