Victor Oladipo Gets Traded Before Trade Deadline

Victor Oladipo’s name has been mentioned a lot in trade rumors this offseason and while both he and the Pacers shoot down any speculation of Oladipo being on the move, Indiana did not get a contract extension in place to keep him long-term.

Whether or not this is because they want to monitor the former All-Star’s injury situation and make sure he can still play at a high-level, Oladipo’s future in Indiana is very much up-in-the-air.

The biggest problem for Victor Oladipo over the years has been the fact that he has not been able to stay healthy. Given these concerns and the fact that he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2020-21 NBA season, the Pacers may want to move the former All-Star while his value is still high and they can get some valuable assets from. 

While he is productive on the court, averaging 20.7 points per game in 130 games with the Pacers, Victor Oladipo’s health has to be the main concern for Indiana’s front office moving forward. They have Aaron Holiday and Edmond Sumner, two younger and reliable scorers who could step up if Oladipo is traded and with the emergence of T.J. Warren last year, the Pacers would not be in trouble by trading the former All-Star. 

There are plenty of teams who have expressed interest in Victor Oladipo over the years and with him being a hot name in trade talk this offseason, it would seem likely that the Pacers are close to moving on from him. Acquiring future draft assets to continue building a younger core with their main core still intact, as well as a potential role player in a trade for Victor Oladipo would set the Pacers up for success for the next several years. 

It makes more sense for the Pacers to trade Victor Oladipo at this point and they will most likely pull the trigger come time for this upcoming year’s trade deadline.