New Orleans Pelicans Receive: G Victor Oladipo & F Ben McLemore
Houston Rockets Receive: G Lonzo Ball, G J.J. Redick, LAL 2021 1st Round Pick (via NOP)
Before being traded to the Pacers, Victor Oladipo looked solid for the Pacers in what is his first full season back after suffering his gruesome knee injury in 2019. In 9 games with Indiana, Oladipo averaged 20.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and shot 36.2% from three-point range.
Oladipo made his debut with the Rockets on Tuesday and scored 32 points, dishing out 9 assists in the process. He could very much be the leader of this Houston team moving forward, but if they decide to trade him, New Orleans is a very realistic landing spot.
Lonzo Ball is definitely more valuable than J.J. Redick, seeing that the sharpshooting Redick is near the end of his career, but all-in-all, both guys can contribute now for Houston and play a role in their future. Ball is in his second season with the Pelicans after being traded there last year as he was part of Anthony Davis to the Lakers trade.
Last season, Ball averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists and shot 37.5% from three-point range, but there were questions surrounding his lack of effort in the NBA Bubble. New Orleans had a real chance to make the playoffs or at the least, the play-in game in the Western Conference last year, but they fell apart in Orlando.
It seemed at times that Lonzo Ball did not care to be there and his overall lack of effort definitely hurt their chances to win some games, but the narrative has seemed to change this year for the young point guard. He seems rejuvenated and fired up this season and definitely looks like a key role player moving forward due to his “do-it-all” mindset on the court.
J.J. Redick is now in his 15th season in the NBA and while he is nearing the end of what has been a magnificent career, Redick still has a good amount left in the tank. He has started off slow this season and has struggled shooting at times, but the sharpshooting Redick will bounce back and get back to being one of the best three-point shooters in the league in no time.
The 36-year old guard currently sits 15th on the All-Time three-pointers made list with 1905 made three-pointers and has a chance to move into the Top-10 All-Time by the end of the 2020-21 NBA season. He is a valuable role player for any team in the league and given his veteran leadership, could make a big difference for a team with some younger players.
If New Orleans is going to pull the trigger on trying to acquire Victor Oladipo, they will not be able to do so until February 2nd at the earliest since Oladipo was recently traded and cannot be dealt again until after this date. With that being said, let’s take a closer look as to why this trade makes sense for both the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans.
