Why This Trade Makes Sense For The New Orleans Pelicans
Adding Oladipo to their roster would be a massive addition for the New Orleans Pelicans, an organization that is looking to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 when they made the Western Conference Semifinals. Nobody from that team is on the Pelicans’ roster anymore and with All-Star talents like Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, Oladipo would be the “cherry on top” for this roster.
Anytime you have two All-Star talents on your roster, you have a chance to be a legit playoff team, but when you are able to have three All-Star talents, your team is now a legit contender in their conference. With Stan Van Gundy as their head coach now, the Pelicans have turned into one of the better defensive teams in the entire league, which is why Oladipo could fit right in.
Before getting injured, Victor Oladipo was one of the best two-way guards in the entire NBA and earned All-Defensive First-Team Honors for the 2017-18 season, and he led the league in steals that year. So far this year, he looks just as good of a defender as he was then and he is a much better all-around talent than Lonzo Ball in the backcourt.
Both Ball and Redick are two key role players for the Pelicans, but with other guys like Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Josh Hart stepping up and taking on bigger roles this year, New Orleans could add a guy like Oladipo and feel comfortable about their depth behind their star players. Not to mention, Ben McLemore is a solid role player and would be a key contributor off-the-bench.
A lineup of Eric Bledsoe, Victor Oladipo, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Steven Adams with Josh Hart, Nickeil-Alexander Walker, Ben McLemore and Nicolo Melli coming off the bench is a definite playoff team in a loaded Western Conference and a defensive-minded team that could spring an upset come playoff time.
While investing in Oladipo would definitely be a risk for the Pelicans, he is in the final year of his contract and is set to be a free agent by the end of the year. If he can remain healthy and proves that he is still an All-Star talent, the Pelicans can re-sign him to a long-term deal. If they decide to move on from him though, they would not be penalized and would have $21M in cap space to go out in free agency and bring in more talent to their roster.
This trade would be a big win for the New Orleans Pelicans and if they want to secure their spot in the playoffs this year, they need to make a big move near the trade deadline and trade for a guy like Victor Oladipo.
