Report: The Milwaukee Bucks Have Expressed Interest In Trading For Victor Oladipo. Is This Trade Worth Making For Both Organizations?

According to an article by Nick Crain of SLAM, there have been reports circulating the internet regarding the aggressive interest of Victor Oladipo in Milwaukee. These reports have carried on for multiple weeks; however, the Milwaukee Bucks have officially made it clear that Victor Oladipo is one of their prime candidates to trade for in hopes of convincing Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign a supermax contract in 2021. While Oladipo has made it to the All-Star game, he has been unable to return to that status in the last few seasons due to a terrible ACL injury at the start of the 2018-19 season. This was a shocking defeat for Indiana especially when factoring how the Indiana Pacers took LeBron James to seven games in 2018 while almost beating the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the following season, the expectations were high for Oladipo, but due to his torn ACL in the 2018-19 season, he could not return that status. However, with the Milwaukee Bucks expressing interest in the former All-Star, could this be an opportunity for Oladipo to regain his All-Star status while being the final piece in convincing Giannis Antetokounmpo in re-signing? 

If Victor Oladipo can return to his old self, he would be the ideal fit for the Milwaukee Bucks as he was regarded as one of the best two-way guards during his peak. Although his injury sidelined him longer than anticipated, he had a much-needed rest period that allowed him extra time to train while focusing on getting better. The reason why Oladipo managed to skyrocket in the 2017-18 season was due to his work ethic and commitment to the game, as he has recently stated that all he wants to be is a winner. With the Milwaukee Bucks already regarded as a contender in the Eastern Conference without Oladipo, this organization's potential with Oladipo could lead to lasting results. A finals appearance and getting revenge on the Miami Heat could be much more attainable if the Bucks accomplish this trade. The best aspect of all of this is, if the Oladipo project fails, it would not be a lasting consequence considering that he is also an unrestricted free agent in the 2021 off-season. Simultaneously, the Milwaukee Bucks would need Oladipo to play the best basketball to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay. If this project can become successful, the Milwaukee Bucks would not only make it far into the playoffs but would most likely persuade Giannis to re-sign, which is their top priority. 

The purpose of this trade is to show how eager the Milwaukee Bucks are at keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo. Without their two-time MVP, the Bucks would most likely be a low playoff seed to a high lottery organization. Even though Khris Middleton is an All-Star, he is nowhere near a superstar, let alone a first option. Middleton would bring relevancy to Milwaukee, but it would be close to vacant in terms of playoff success. The Milwaukee Bucks need to make a trade like this to save their franchise. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been their greatest chance at even touching the NBA finals since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson! With many organizations already aware of the fragile state of the Milwaukee Bucks, what would this organization have to offer even to convince Indiana to pick up the phone? 

The good news about trading for Oladipo is that he has little to no value considering that he barely played this season, has only one year left of his contract and suffered one of the worst sports injuries. This indicates that the Milwaukee Bucks do not need to overpay for Oladipo, especially when factoring in all these aspects. With Indiana already aware of this, they should re-visit an Oladipo trade before the trade deadline as they could receive better value for the former All-Star. However, if the Milwaukee Bucks are committed to their decision, the best-proposed trade while considering everything previously mentioned is Victor Oladipo in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Ersan Ilyasova, and a lottery-protected 2021 first-round pick. While giving up a first-round pick might be a bit much for Victor Oladipo, the Milwaukee Bucks will once again steamroll their way through the Eastern Conference, which entails that this draft pick has little to no value. There have been some exceptional late first-round selections over the last few seasons, such as Bam Adebayo, Domantas Sabonis, John Collins, Pascal Siakam, and Malcolm Brogdon, just to name a few, the chances of drafting a diamond in the rough are very slim. However, this trade is still lacklustre as the Bucks could attain a player that could go back to All-Star form while the Indiana Pacers would receive a great defensive point guard in Eric Bledsoe and virtually nothing else. Their only hope of getting some value out of this trade is to pray that they can draft the next diamond in the rough, which is a considerable risk for an organization trying to compete in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers need to hold off any offers for Oladipo and wait to see how he performs in the 2020-21 NBA season. From that point onwards, Indiana should re-visit trade offers for Victor Oladipo.