More on Victor Oladipo Trade?
Shams Charania: Sources: Houston traded Victor Oladipo to Miami for Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a draft swap.
Tim Reynolds: Confirming: There is an agreement between the Rockets and the Heat. @Adrian Wojnarowski first ... and Miami was in on Lowry all the way to the end. Victor Oladipo gets what he has wanted for a long time. He's joining the Heat.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Houston is trading Victor Oladipo to Miami, source tells ESPN.
Jonathan Feigen: All healthy Rockets players took part in practice, including Victor Oladipo who sat out on Wednesday. Kevin Porter Jr., who missed three games, also practiced.
Chris Mannix: I want to start with Victor Oladipo and Houston. Oladipo I think is gone. That's what I'm hearing from teams that are communicating with Houston, that the Rockets are, if it comes to it, at the end is going to auction them off to the highest bidder.
Tim MacMahon: Victor Oladipo isn’t playing tonight due to personal reasons. This isn’t related to the trade market, although it is likely the Rockets will move him before tomorrow’s deadline.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Rockets continue to be engaged on several fronts in trade talks for Victor Oladipo, sources tell ESPN.
In the same vein as Houston’s Victor Oladipo, the Knicks don’t wish to give up first-round picks for the 27-year-old Powell as a rental and would prefer assurances he would re-sign if they make a move. However, league sources contend the Pacers are willing to overpay Powell in free agency and perhaps outbid the field.
Ryan Ward: According to @SBD, Andre Drummond has the best odds to be trade before the NBA trade deadline on Thursday: - Andre Drummond: -150 - Aaron Gordon: +110 - Victor Oladipo: +125 - Evan Fournier: +150 - LaMarcus Aldridge: +155
The Knicks interest in Oladipo may be overblown, per league sources, and Miami is said to be lukewarm about packaging any of its young shooters (Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson) in a deal for a player they could pursue via free agency. Houston, though, will move Oladipo somewhere before Friday.
The Houston Rockets are progressing on several fronts in talks to trade guard Victor Oladipo, and there's strong confidence they'll execute a deal ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline, sources tell ESPN. The Rockets are increasingly comfortable with the offers on Oladipo in the marketplace, which include young players and first-round pick combinations that the franchise believes are suitable returns to make a deal, sources said.
Oladipo, who can become a free agent this summer, has a longer-term interest in joining the Miami Heat, which is well-known around the league, sources said. Miami has the salary cap space to sign Oladipo as a free agent this summer, which has inspired a reluctance on the Heat's part to make a premium offer to Houston for a trade, sources said. Oladipo has a mutual interest in the New York Knicks too, sources said, and New York -- armed also with summer cap space -- has been reluctant to make an aggressive trade offer on Oladipo too, sources said.
Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Sources: Heat and Knicks - w/ summer cap space - are reluctant to offer premium packages for Victor Oladipo, but market’s developed of capped-out teams bidding w/ young player/first-round pick combos. One thing’s become clear: Houston’s likely moving Oladipo before deadline.
As a result, his value, according to multiple sources around the league, is currently not commensurate with his pedigree. His greatest value source of trade value might not concern this season. “Vic’s health is still a lingering question, but someone may want his Bird rights,” one Eastern Conference executive said Sunday. The logic is there: Though diminished, Oladipo remains a player worth investing in as a part of a team’s core. If a team believes he could still regain more health over time, acquiring now could represent a long-term discount if he returns to his previous All-Star form.
One key party with knowledge of the talks disputed that it nearly reached the point of completion. It would have likely involved Victor Oladipo. However, any team that seeks a trade for the Orlando Magic versatile forward would prefer to have some assurances that Gordon would agree to an extension, sources said.
One latest potential Oladipo suitor to keep an eye on is Atlanta. The Hawks have made Bogdan Bogdanovic and Cam Reddish available, sources said, as the front office is purportedly searching to upgrade its crowded wing rotation.
Marc Stein: Around the league, Houston's two-time All-Star guard Victor Oladipo is increasingly regarded as one of the (if not THE) most decorated players to be traded in the next four-plus days
Adrian Wojnarowski: “I think [Victor Oladipo] going to be prominent in conversations this week. I think there’s a lot of teams with interested in Victor, but the question is going to be ’What price?’” Tim Bontemps: “I think a lot of teams are going to be reticent just from the simple fact he has not looked like the player he was before and there hasn’t been a lot of evidence, combined with him being a free agent, that you would want to pay a heavy price to bring him in.”
While Houston’s combo guard Victor Oladipo is very available, Pelicans pass-first point guard Lonzo Ball is higher on Leon Rose’s list. However, the Pelicans have not tipped their hand on whether they’re ready to move their ever-improving playmaker, even though he is a restricted free agent this summer as his rookie contract expires.
Scotto: In speaking with other executives around the league, they definitely think he’s going to get moved at some point.
Iko: They like Oladipo a lot. They brought him in wanting to hang onto him if they could. At the same time, they’re also becoming a bit more realistic and saying that if a team comes in and can offer something that’s of higher value to them than hanging onto him, they’ll obviously trade him. Victor is the kind of guy where you see why Stephen Silas wanted to bring him in as a two-way player… As the deadline approaches, there are teams like Miami, New York, and possibly Denver, that would take him off their hands.
The Victor Oladipo issue: It’s no secret that Oladipo has strong interest in the Heat, either via a trade or in free agency this summer. The question is whether Miami would have interest if Houston makes him available before the trade deadline. It’s unlikely the Heat would give up a key young piece for him.
President Leon Rose is seeing if he can upgrade their current talent — specifically in the backcourt with Rockets combo guard Victor Oladipo, a player of interest — to win now and break the seven-year playoff drought. The Knicks are thin at center as Mitchell Robinson is still not close to playing, according to coach Tom Thibodeau. The Cavaliers’ Andre Drummond is very available.
By the time the deadline comes and goes, I wouldn’t be surprised if Houston’s Victor Oladipo was the biggest name to be on the move. Per ESPN, Oladipo — who will be a free agent this offseason — turned down a two-year, $45.2 million extension offer from the Rockets after he was part of the aforementioned Harden deal. Some rival executives saw this as a tone-setting kind of gesture for future negotiations, a way for the Rockets to make it clear that they want Oladipo to stick around — even though they didn’t expect him to accept the offer. Oladipo discussed this dynamic recently.
In addition to Houston's most-whispered names, Victor Oladipo and PJ Tucker, team executives polled by B/R are also curious whether the Rockets will look to move supporting players deeper in their rotation. They're specifically eyeing Houston's cadre of athletic, two-way wings like Danuel House Jr., Ben McLemore, Sterling Brown and Jae'Sean Tate. "I keep hearing they're going to fire-sale," said a rival scout. "Houston's gonna burn the house down," said another assistant general manager.
The two-time All-Star recently declined a two-year, $45.2 million extension with the Rockets, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and league executives polled by B/R have suggested that Oladipo is looking for a maximum salary over a long-term deal. That may ultimately cloud Oladipo's market if the Rockets were to look to move him. He has long been linked to South Beach, and he spent much of his rehab from his quadriceps tendon injury in Miami. "Miami's the one you always hear," said another rival scout.
There is significant interest in P.J. Tucker, who would not seem to fit in long-term plans. Because of the trades of James Harden and Robert Covington, the Rockets have restocked their supply of draft picks and won’t have to look to make any deal available to get picks back as they might have — and probably would have — when they had control of so few. Even more so with Victor Oladipo, the Rockets would not make a move unless it would be a trade that they would have made regardless of their situation in the standings or how they got there.
Oladipo, however, remains in play for the Knicks as the Rockets are expected to trade him at the deadline as they slide into oblivion. Oladipo will be a free agent in 2021 and reportedly wants to sign with the Heat. That would make Oladipo a rental as the Knicks look to boost their bid to snap a seven-year playoff drought.
Nevertheless, Oladipo, 28, has the chance to become one of the best two-way players available at the trade deadline or free agency. Miami and New York are among teams who've had an interest in Oladipo, and both have the salary-cap space to sign him outright in the summer.
Oladipo's in the final year of a four-year, $85 million contract, which leaves the Rockets with decisions to make prior to the March 25 trade deadline -- including whether they'll make him available in trade talks. The transitional state of the Rockets' roster makes it likely they'll listen to overtures as they continue to get to know Oladipo -- and he gets to know them -- since the mid-January trade that brought him from Indiana as part of the James Harden blockbuster.
For the Rockets, amid a post-Harden and Westbrook era, there are a number of options with Oladipo, including weighing his value in the trade deadline marketplace, committing to aggressively pursuing a long-term deal in the summer, working with Oladipo on getting value back in sign-and-trade talks in the offseason or letting him walk to use the cap space on other players in free agency.
Some around the league think Oladipo could be a candidate to sign a contract with the Miami Heat during the upcoming free-agency period. So one has to imagine that the Rockets will look to move the two-time All-Star they acquired in a four-team deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.
Brian Windhorst: The Houston Rockets who have lost eight in a row. There's chatter starting to go around about whether Victor Oladipo will be back on the market.
The Knicks — as well as several other teams — are monitoring the situations of shooting guards Bradley Beal and Victor Oladipo. The Knicks (11-15) get an up-close look at both players in a Friday-Saturday back-to-back.
The Houston Rockets could potentially move Oladipo again, as well as forward P.J. Tucker, who also is on an expiring contract.
That's why Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo will be a name to keep an eye on. The former All-Star has had a slew of injuries in recent years but is among the more talented two-way players when healthy. League sources say the Knicks are among the teams interested in Oladipo and will be closely monitoring the impending free agent's play leading up to the deadline and beyond if he's not moved by then.
After Houston traded James Harden, executives around the league wondered what was next for the Rockets. Could they flip Victor Oladipo to a contender? Who would bid the most to add P.J. Tucker for a playoff run? A lot of that talk has simmered down this past week as the Rockets have rattled off victories. Now some executives are wondering: Could Houston actually be a buyer?
Scott Agness: Nate Bjorkgren said he has spoken with Oladipo. "He was a man of his word to a T. … He did everything that I ever asked from him. "He’s got a very bright future ahead of him."
Scott Agness: Pacers did not get to say goodbye to Victor Oladipo, Justin Holiday says. They were already on the bus to the airport bound for Portland.
The Indiana Pacers announced Saturday they acquired Caris LeVert and cash considerations from the Brooklyn Nets as part of a four-team trade that sent Victor Oladipo to the Houston Rockets. As part of the deal, the Pacers also received a future second round draft pick from Houston and a future second round draft pick from Cleveland.
"First and foremost, we want to thank Victor for what he gave to the Pacers through his play, his diligence in rehab coming back from a serious injury, and his community efforts," said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. "These decisions are obviously never easy and this one in particular was hard because of our relationship."
Rumors swirled that Oladipo wanted out of Indiana for a while, which he denied. According to one Pacers teammate, there wasn’t tension in the locker room with Oladipo despite the rumors that swirled about his future. “He came into camp with a refreshed mindset and was committed to the team, zero tension,” one Pacers player told HoopsHype on the condition of anonymity since the trade is not official yet. “I think the trade surprised us all, but it’s part of the business. We all loved Vic in the locker room.”
Adrian Wojnarowski: As part of blockbuster four-team trade today, the Rockets are sending a 2023 second-round pick to the Pacers, source tells ESPN.
Shams Charania: Sources: Full current trade: Rockets: Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, 3 BKN first-rounders (22, 24, 26), 1 MIL first (22, unprotected), 4 BKN 1st round swaps (21, 23, 25, 27) Nets: James Harden Pacers: Caris LeVert, 2nd-rounder Cavs: Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince
Adrian Wojnarowski: The Rockets are expanding the deal to send Caris LeVert to the Pacers for Victor Oladipo, sources tell ESPN.
Bobby Marks: Victor Oladipo can be traded again but not until March 4. The trade deadline is March 25.
Shams Charania: The Indiana Pacers are moving Victor Oladipo to the Rockets for package around Caris LeVert, sources tell @The Athletic @Stadium.
Milwaukee also pursued players such as Indiana Pacers two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo and Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie during the offseason, sources said. Around Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have built a supporting cast of Holiday, All-Star Khris Middleton and All-NBA defensive center Brook Lopez. Either way, given their history battling for MVPs, Harden and Antetokounmpo would be a dreamy duo.
Hearing the chatter while becoming emotionally unattached to the situation has him motivated to take it out on his opponents. To say that he has a chip on his shoulder is an understatement. "It stopped being a chip a long time ago. It more so feels like the world on my back and I gotta make sure I hold it up," Oladipo said. "So, if you wanna call me Atlas from now on, that's fine, but it's no longer a chip. It's bigger than a chip now, so I'm just looking forward to competing at the highest level."
A childhood lesson has come back to help Victor Oladipo amid rumors that the Pacers star wants out of Indiana. "Growing up, I was always taught not to engage in nonsense," Oladipo said. "I never have. I never came out and said that I didn't want to play for the Pacers or be in this organization, but, yeah, I'm focused on now. Here and now."
"It's very difficult, especially when things are said about you that's negative," Oladipo said. "I've been in the league for eight years now, this is my eighth year, and this is the first time anyone has accused me of anything like this. It's very interesting to me, but at the end of the day, I can't let none of the stuff that I can't control make me lose focus of what really matters, and that's this team, my teammates, this organization and making sure I'm healthy."
Eric Woodyard: Pacers' Victor Oladipo calls it "night and day" with the way he's moving now. He called the reports "nonsense" when people questioned his commitment to Indy. "I never came out and said that I didn't want to play for the Pacers or be in this organization," he said.
According to sources, Knicks GM Scott Perry, who drafted Oladipo when with Orlando, would like to explore that avenue, but Knicks president Leon Rose is less eager. Oladipo has yet to return to elite form since knee surgery nearly two years ago.
According to sources, Oladipo is not as available as he might have been over the summer. He quickly has forged a strong relationship with Pacers new coach Nate Bjorkgren, but the 2019 All-Star is in the final year of his contract.
Gary Washburn: #Pacers-#Celtics sign-and-trade update. Hayward wants to play in Indiana. He's told the #Celtics that. IND offering Turner and McDermott BOS wants Turner and Warren or Oladipo. That's a big difference.
Last week, The Indianapolis Star reported that while he was in the bubble, Oladipo repeatedly asked opposing players whether they’d be interested in having Oladipo as a teammate. “It is what it is, it’s over with now. Emotions were felt. I have no ill will toward anybody,” Oladipo said. “I love everyone, I pray for everyone, that’s just the kind of guy I am. I just look forward to playing for the Pacers and winning a championship for the state of Indiana.”
Eric Woodyard: A source tells ESPN that Victor Oladipo has always said he wants to win and he has said he wants to win in Indiana.
Two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo has informed the Pacers that he is fully committed to the franchise and the direction of the team entering this upcoming season, Oladipo told The Athletic's Shams Charania.
"I know there have been people saying that I have asked players to trade for me. That's just not true, period. I love my teammates, I cherish the state of Indiana and I'm focused on leading this franchise to a title," Oladipo told The Athletic.
Oladipo, 28, is not expected to entertain an extension this offseason due to the limits of the collective bargaining agreement in relation to what Indiana can offer. He has stated publicly and privately he wants to play for a team that is aspiring to compete for a championship.
The Mavericks are looking all over for a secondary playmaking presence behind Luka Doncic; they’re chasing Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie, and Chicago’s Zach LaVine.
NBA Central: Victor Oladipo’s sister and Myles Turner 👀 pic.twitter.com/RQm3EdSbNL
According to IndyStar’s J. Michael, Indiana president Kevin Pritchard has discussed Victor Oladipo trades “often,” including in three-team deals with center Myles Turner.
Jordan Heck: Victor Oladipo asked other teams "Can I come play with y'all?" in front of his Pacers teammates, per @ThisIsJMichael
The Bucks are also eyeing Indiana's Victor Oladipo, though no substantive talks with the Pacers have taken place, sources say. Other teams are monitoring the Oladipo situation, but several of them would like to see Oladipo in action before engaging Indiana, sources say.
The New York Knicks had past interest in Oladipo, sources say, but they might have shifted into "wait and watch" mode. Oladipo would be an interesting fallback option as the Brooklyn Nets' "third star," though I'd be very surprised if Brooklyn dealt Caris LeVert for him.
League sources say the Pacers have talked with the Bucks about a trade involving Oladipo, though at this point it seems unlikely. Oladipo could be acquirable for the right price if the Sixers wanted to bet on a return to his pre-injury form.
Indiana guard Victor Oladipo: A source said Oladipo likes Indiana and would be happy staying there with a big new contract, but that if he were to leave, Miami would be No. 1 on his list. But Heat's interest will depend entirely on how he plays next season and Miami’s success in trying to lure a bigger fish.
Indiana could trade him over the next year - rather than lose him for nothing - but it’s doubtful Miami would sacrifice major assets for Oladipo in a trade, partly because nobody knows if he will return to his former All Star form.
If Nunn and cap flexibility are the players involved, those future picks will have to fly. If we throw Robinson into the mix, it becomes easier to not have to part with future picks. If Herro is involved, there is no need to attach future picks. It’s just hard to see Herro being involved unless they’re acquiring Giannis or Beal in a potential trade. League sources believe a trade for Oladipo wouldn’t even consider including Herro on Miami’s end of it. “Riley hangs up.”
Kravitz: The Pacers understand, they can't and won't spend the kind of money that other teams spend, so they've got to be more creative and forward-thinking with their approach. At this point, there's still no public indication whether Victor Oladipo will remain with the Pacers; he gave off a get-me-outta-here vibe in recent months, but sources tell me it hasn't yet reached critical mass. They also have to decide whether they're going to move forward with the Myles Turner-Domantas Sabonis big-man pairing. Turner would seem the more likely focus of a trade if they go that way.
Indiana Pacers star guard Victor Oladipo has seen his name included in multiple trade rumors of late. As it turns out, however, not everyone believes that the 28-year-old holds as much value as some may think. In a recent appearance on the The Hoop Collective with Brian Windhorst, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps explained why he thinks not too many teams will be lining up to trade for Oladipo in the coming offseason. Transcribed by RealGM: “I think it’s unlikely Oladipo gets traded because of how weird his past year has been,” said Bontemps. “Both coming back from the injury, and frankly, not being very good after coming back from the injury. “From talking to people around the league, I don’t think his value is nearly as high as his name brand would suggest at the moment. And I think it’s more likely that the Pacers go into the season and either hope he plays really well and they do great and he decides to stay. Or that he plays better and they maybe trade him later, when his value goes up soon.”
"I'll give you a team I'm keeping an eye on with Victor Oladipo," said Zach Lowe on his podcast. "Milwaukee. Just keeping my eye on them. That's all I'm going to say. I'm keeping my eye on them.
Hayward would return home (he was born in Indianapolis and went to high school in the suburb of Brownsburg), giving the Pacers a player to potentially replace Victor Oladipo on the wing. Oladipo is heading into the last year of his contract, and several executives around the league believe Indiana will shop him this offseason. Boston may not have the willingness to give up the kind of assets needed to take on Oladipo, but Turner might be attainable.
Oladipo’s contract is up after the 2020-21 season. Since January, there have been rumblings among my own league sources about Oladipo’s openness to a trade. Oladipo himself told rapper Fat Joe that he values winning over being a team’s best player. Does Indiana offer the best of both worlds, or does Miami, the city he already trains in and calls home during the offseason? This is assuming the Heat would even want Oladipo, who didn’t look like an All-Star this season after his return from a major knee injury. Any team interested in Oladipo, including the Heat, should probably wait. But Miami has options as it awaits a disgruntled star who wants out.
While Rose, the Knicks rookie president, has Paul on his trade radar, putting together a package for younger Pacers’ guard Victor Oladipo is expected to be a higher priority, according to NBA officials.
