Victor Oladipo wants out, and the Indiana Pacers might grant his wish. The two-time NBA All-Star only played 19 games in the 2019-20 NBA season and has been with the Pacers since 2017.
Victor Oladipo Trade Rumors
Oladipo is looking to move on from the Pacers, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
It is a bit surprising that Victor Oladipo wants to move on. Oladipo has been in the NBA since 2013 but did not become an NBA All-Star until he went to the Pacers. In the 2017-18 NBA season, he averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.4 steals per game.
Victor Oladipo is looking to move on from the Pacers this offseason, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic pic.twitter.com/AZ1LzEyWs1
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 28, 2020
This was by far his best season with the Pacers and as a result, made his first-ever NBA All-Star appearance. He also made the NBA All-Star Game in 2019. In the 2018-19 NBA season, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
However, according to Jack Mulroney and Chris Bengel of CBS Sports, Victor Oladipo had a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee in January against the Toronto Raptors. As a result, he missed the rest of the 2018-19 NBA season and the 2019 NBA playoffs. He also only played 36 games in total in the 2018-19 NBA season.
Potential NBA Suitors
Boston Celtics
As of right now, the Boston Celtics are the favorites to get Victor Oladipo. According to Hoops Central, Oladipo could be traded to the Celtics in exchange for Gordon Hayward.
This is a remarkably interesting trade proposal. Hayward like Oladipo has experienced injury problems. After making the 2017 NBA All-Star Game with the Utah Jazz, Hayward had several injury problems with the Celtics. It started off in the 2017-18 NBA season, with him dislocating his left ankle and fractured his left tibia against the Cleveland Cavaliers according to the Associated Press and staff reports.
Since then, he has not been the same player. However, his 2019-20 NBA season might provide some hope. He averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. He also had a 50 percent field goal percentage. It is important to note though that he only played in five of the Celtics’ 17 games because of an injury.
Report: Victor Oladipo could be moved to Boston Celtics for Gordon Haywardhttps://t.co/G85y2b091M
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 28, 2020
However, the Celtics’ two NBA All-Stars from 2020 are Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart who play in the backcourt. If Oladipo gets traded to the Celtics he may be forced to play on the bench unless either Walker or Smart is moved.
For the Pacers, having Hayward would be beneficial to their front-court. Both he and 2020 NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis will create a partnership in the center and power forward positions. Sabonis averaged 18.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.o assists per game in the 2019-20 NBA season. These are all career-highs for Sabonis.
Furthermore, according to stats.nba.com, Pacers’ small forward T.J. Warren averaged 31.0 points, 2.0 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in the 2019-20 NBA season part of the bubble. As a result, Warren made the All-Bubble First Team. These three players would give the Pacers one of the best frontcourts in the NBA.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is another potential suitor for Victor Oladipo. A player they might trade for Victor Oladipo is Kendrick Nunn. He averaged 15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in the 2019-20 NBA season. Nunn is only 25 years old and is three years younger than Oladipo. Both Oladipo and Nunn play the point guard and shooting guard positions.
However, it would mean the Pacers would be rebuilding more for the future than trying to make a run in the 2021 NBA playoffs. Nunn had the second most votes for Rookie of the Year. Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, who won Rookie of the Year in 2020 was the only one who had more votes. Nunn made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2020.
For the Heat, losing Nunn might be a big price to pay. However, the Heat made the NBA Finals with NBA All-Stars Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. With the possible addition of Victor Oladipo, the Heat would have potentially had three NBA All-Stars. However, the caveat is how healthy will Oladipo be? This is a question with no clear answer for the 2020-21 NBA season and the 2021 NBA playoffs. Although, Victor Oladipo did average 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.6 steals per game in the 2020 NBA playoffs.
NBA Trade Rumors on Victor Oladipo Overview
Victor Oladipo is likely to be traded this year. This is a bit surprising, but there might be two reasons for this. Despite having good regular-seasons, the Pacers had not experienced the same success in the playoffs. They have not advanced past the first round since the 2014 NBA playoffs. Furthermore, the Pacers have not won an NBA playoff game since the 2018 NBA playoffs.
They were swept by the Celtics in the 2019 NBA playoffs and by the Heat in the 2020 NBA playoffs. Furthermore, the Celtics made the Eastern Conference Finals and the Heat the NBA Finals in the 2020 NBA playoffs. Victor Oladipo’s main goal right now might be to win Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. There might also be other teams interested in Oladipo like the Denver Nuggets, who made the 2020 Western Conference Finals.
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