Victor Oladipo has found a new home in the NBA after the Indiana Pacers were involved in the blockbuster 4-team trade that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. The Beard had his wish granted and Oladipo, too.
The shooting guard was linked with a move away from Indiana since the end of the 2019/20 NBA season and this Tuesday, he finally left the Pacers. Oladipo repeatedly said he wanted to win and he wanted to win with Indy, but things have taken a turn now and the player is apart of the Houston Rockets.
That doesn’t mean that this story is over, though, as Dipo wouldn’t be too comfortable playing in Houston. In fact, he is still interested in playing with the Miami Heat. According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Oladipo is still hoping to land in South Beach at some point. If he doesn’t get there via trade, perhaps the Heat will try to pursue him in free agency.
“Wall, Cousins, and Oladipo are all returning from major leg injuries that have kept them out for extended time. Wall has resembled his former self but isn’t all the way back athletically. Cousins is struggling badly while playing on a veteran’s minimum contract that doesn’t become fully guaranteed for another month. Oladipo has been solid this season but still isn’t back to his All-Star level. Good health is certainly no guarantee for this roster. Cousins and Oladipo will both be free agents this summer, but Wall’s signed for the next two seasons at a high price tag of $44.3 million in 2021-22 and $47.4 million in 2022-23, so he’ll likely be in Houston for the foreseeable future.
Houston could also still flip Oladipo, who wanted out of Indiana but landed in another place he doesn’t want to be. League sources say Oladipo still hopes to find himself in Miami.”
This is a completely new scenario but Victor still wants to play in Miami, his desired destination since last season. The Rockets could receive several offers from him and PJ Tucker, but first, they’ll like to try and see how things work out with Wall, Oladipo and Boogie Cousins. They had a lot of benefits from that Harden trade and even if Oladipo doesn’t stay with them, they recovered some draft picks that will be very helpful for their future.
Oladipo wanted to get traded, but he came out and played hard every night, didn't really hear a peep. Respect
— You are a bootlicker, babe. (@SnottieDrippen) January 13, 2021
Contrary to Harden, Oladipo didn’t make any noise in Indy, even though he wanted out of that team. He could continue to handle things that way in Houston; they know that he doesn’t want to be there but it’d be crazy seeing Oladipo calling out his teammates the same way Harden did.
