Teams Reluctant To Trade For Victor Oladipo?

Perhaps the most mentioned in the NBA rumor mill, Victor Oladipo will be the focus of the Indiana Pacers’ offseason. He is eligible for a contract extension but the circumstances of his injury and not yet showing to be back to previous form complicated matters.

The situation between Oladipo and the Pacers is being monitored by rival teams but several organizations want to watch him play next season before making a play to trade for him, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

The Milwaukee Bucks are ‘eyeing’ Oladipo but neither side has conducted ‘substantive talks’ on a potential deal, per Lowe. Also, the team most linked to Oladipo in the past has been the Miami Heat, but they have ‘likely backed away’ from a potential deal.

Lowe singled out the New York Knicks as a team who was previously higher on the idea of trading for Oladipo earlier in the offseason, but have since shifted to ‘wait and watch’ mode. It was also mentioned how the Miami Heat has ‘likely backed away.’

It appears Victor Oladipo would have been best served taking the four-year, $80 million offer the Pacers that SNY’s Ian Begley reported the two-time All-Star received before last season. In fact, Oladipo was ‘insulted’ by the offer and immediately rejected it.

Unless the Pacers are prepared to take an underwhelming trade package for Oladipo, it appears more likely that he will start the 2020-21 season in Indiana. That would make it difficult for the organization to plan alternative options on the perimeter in the meantime.

The NBA trade deadline would then become the date to watch if no agreement was reached on a contract extension. The Indiana Pacers would then face a situation where they either need to trade Victor Oladipo, or run a substantial risk of losing him for nothing in free agency.