Sources: These Five NBA Teams Could Land Victor Oladipo Before The Start Of The 2020-21 NBA Season. Which Team Holds The Best Offer?

With the Indiana Pacers getting swept by the Miami Heat this season, Indiana’s star Victor Oladipo recently suggested that he wants to be around a winning organization where he can make a lasting impact on his legacy. From Orlando to Oklahoma, Oladipo, so far in his career, has not been placed in a serviceable role of championship contention and instead has been a part of mediocre to average teams. However, Indiana is in a good position to compete as they have all the pieces to contend in the Eastern Conference except a star player. Their depth is intriguing and filled with potential as they have one of the deepest teams in the NBA today. General Manager Larry Bird has successfully created rosters that can make the playoffs, but that’s it. 

Victor Oladipo’s level of competitiveness and dedication is important to possess, but it may look premature. Even though he has made an All-Star game and won the most-improved award in the NBA, Oladipo needs to sustain good health and reach that level of dominance before making these remarks of being a part of a winning team or even being rumoured to departing from Indiana! When healthy, Oladipo is the best player in Indiana. However, other players such as Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, and even Myles Turner have just as much talent and potential as Oladipo! However, Victor’s rush to being a part of a winning organization makes sense when looking at his age and his ACL injury. With Oladipo being 28 years old while experiencing an ACL injury, his concern is well placed, but for an organization to feel enticed to trade for you, he needs to improve his production before demanding anything! 

With the rumours and stories accumulating every second about Oladipo’s “lack of interest in Indiana,” various teams have already piled up trade offers in hopes of trading for the former All-Star. Despite any information given about which organizations are interested, here are some trade offers that Indiana could be offered. 

Note: Victor Oladipo is an unrestricted free agent in the 2021 NBA off-season, which entails that Oladipo can sign wherever he wishes to go! This means that his trade value becomes substantially less, especially when he already exhibits a history of an ACL injury. Keep that in mind, when reflecting on these trade offers. (@jerseyswaps created three of the five trades!)

Dallas Mavericks

Offer- Tim Hardaway Jr and the 18th pick in the 2020 NBA draft in exchange for Victor Oladipo. (inspiration is from @jerseyswaps)

With the Dallas Mavericks already becoming one of the best teams in the NBA, Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis shocked the world and almost defeated the Los Angeles Clippers if it wasn’t for injuries and horrible officiating. However, as great as they are, the one thing that this team desperately needs is a viable defender that can guard the perimeter. Victor Oladipo provides not only terrific defence but also a reliable jump shot! The Mavericks would have to trade away Tim Hardaway Jr, who has proven to be a great role player but, if he is the cost to receiving an All-Star calibre player, then Mark Cuban with no hesitation to trade him away. 

The benefit of this trade for the Dallas Mavericks is that they add the final piece to a potential dynasty if Oladipo re-signs. In terms of next season, Oladipo will most likely play basketball in his entire career due to wanting a contract as most players tend to play incredibly when their contract is about to expire! Even if Dallas only has Oladipo for one season, his contributions on the court will elevate the Mavericks to potentially a top-four seed in the Western Conference considering how dominant a duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis has already been. Add a defensive scoring shooting guard, and this team becomes one of the best teams in the NBA next season!  

Toronto Raptors

Offer- Norman Powell, Matt Thomas, the 29th and 59th pick in the 2020 NBA draft in exchange for Victor Oladipo. (inspiration is from @jerseyswaps)

The Toronto Raptors are headed into a new direction as most of their roster are unrestricted free agents between this off-season and the next. From Fred VanVleet potentially leaving to sign with the New York Knicks to Kyle Lowry next off-season becoming an unrestricted free-agent, Toronto is currently facing the possibility of reconstructing their team to remain relevant. With Victor Oladipo being on the trade market, the Raptors would have to aggressively pursue the Pacers compared to any other team due to Toronto being in the same conference while being a playoff team. The offer listed above may not even suffice for Indiana, but the Raptors lack many assets to trade, and the only thing that Toronto can do to butter up this trade is offer a future draft pick. 

Unlike the Mavericks trade, the Raptors have much more to risk due to their location. For most players, Toronto seems intriguing and offers everything that any player would dream of except the location. Oladipo may appreciate the winning atmosphere that Toronto holds and would be thrilled to be a part of an organization so welcoming but, his enthusiasm will heavily depend on Pascal Siakam’s production. The reality is, Toronto is not a destination most players in the NBA consider unless there is a chance to win a championship. With this organization potentially losing key rotational assets this season like Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka, the chance of contention and relevance in Toronto is starting to slowly slim down, especially when witnessing the atrocious performance of Siakam in the second round of the 2020 playoffs! Although a duo of Victor Oladipo and Pascal Siakam holds some promise, the chances of Oladipo resigning only depends on how well Pascal plays next season. 

Los Angeles Lakers

Offer- Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma in exchange for Victor Oladipo. (inspiration is from @jerseyswaps)

With the Los Angeles Lakers being two games away from winning their 17th championship, adding a player like Victor Oladipo would elevate this team to being the best team in the NBA next season! As good as the Lakers are, they lack a reliable third-option that can score the basketball effectively despite having decent three-point shooters such as Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Markieff Morris. However, the Lakers’ biggest disappointment this season has been Dany Green’s inconsistent shooting and Kyle Kuzma’s lack of showing up when needed the most. Ironically, both these players are proposed in this trade due to their upside that they both possess. 

While Kuzma and Green have been disappointments this season, Oladipo was in a similar situation when he first entered the NBA. From Orlando to Oklahoma, Oladipo struggled and had a hard time building momentum until joining the Indiana Pacers. All Victor ever needed was a new scenery, and with Kuzma’s scoring potential, the Pacers could potentially have a 20 point per game scorer in the future! Furthermore, with the addition of Danny Green, he would be a rotating piece that would replace the injured Jeremy Lamb and will most likely be sidelined until the beginning of the 2021-22 NBA season! This trade benefits both teams, and if the Pacers still feel that they are receiving less than what they “deserve”, then the Lakers should also offer a draft pick. 

Atlanta Hawks

Offer- Dewayne Dedmon and Cam Reddish in exchange for Victor Oladipo.

The Atlanta Hawks have one of the brightest futures in the NBA and are seasons away from being one of the best sports teams! From Trae Young becoming a superstar to John Collins and DeAndre Hunter having positive upsides, the Hawks have managed to accelerate their rebuild by making smart trades and drafting well! While the Hawks have done an exceptional job at recreating their roster, Victor Oladipo could be the final piece to elevate this team into playoff contention!

Similarly to the Dallas Mavericks, the Atlanta Hawks also lack a serviceable guard to defend the perimeter while scoring the basketball sufficiently. Oladipo possesses both skills and would be a great compliment to Trae Young. The only downside to this fantasy is, Cam Reddish, who was at one point a top-three prospect in the 2019 NBA draft, will have to be moved for Indiana even to consider! While Dewayne Dedmon is offered for contract reasons, the Pacers are trading for Cam Reddish. While Oladipo would elevate Atlanta’s chances of making the playoffs, the Indiana Pacers will have a prospect that they can develop into a star! 

Brooklyn Nets

Offer- Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie in exchange for Victor Oladipo. 

Since the NBA’s return, the Brooklyn Nets have been rumoured to be interested in virtually every shooting guard in the NBA to the point where it has become exhausting. The Nets are in a great situation to contend due to their depth, more so then there two superstars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. However, if the Brooklyn Nets can attain Victor Oladipo for Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince, the possibility of this team winning a championship next season becomes much greater! 

Even though Brooklyn has been rumoured to be interested in Bradley Beal and Jrue Holiday, trading for Victor Oladipo is the cheapest and safest option for the Nets to win a championship due to his contract. While Beal and Holiday are better players than Oladipo, his production next season will be much more elevated due to him proving that he is worth a multi-year contract! Furthermore, the Nets attain a guard that can defend, making Kyrie Irving much more relaxed on both ends of the floor. Oladipo would be the perfect player for the Nets and would be the glue piece that would complete this team!