Victor Oladipo was reportedly “insulted” by a contract extension offer of 4 years/80 million by the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks, a team that is willing to trade assets for disgruntled stars, seem to be looking carefully at this situation.
Last season, Victor Oladipo suffered a ruptured quad tendon in his knee, making him miss a full year of basketball. Victor was averaging 18.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 5.2 APG before the injury on 32 MPG, while averaging 13.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 3.0 APG on 26 MPG post-injury.
Oladipo, still only 27, seemed to start getting in the groove of things right before the seasons ended, giving hope that he can return back to his old form. (Last game before the suspension he had 27 points against the Celtics).
If I am the Knicks, I would certainly be interested in trading for Oladipo if things don’t work out between himself and the Pacers. Since he did have a very large injury, I don’t believe we would have to give RJ or Mitch up for him. I would definitely be willing to give up picks and maybe Knox/Ntilikina and Randle for Oladipo.
The Pacers are known to not want to go in the luxury tax, and if they signed Oladipo, they certainly would be.
Oladipo is still a star when healthy, and can help bring some wins to New York.
Even though it seems like there would be no downfall to trading for Oladipo however, there would be. First off, there is an injury concern. Secondly, we would be giving him a lot of money on a large deal. Third, we would give up young pieces who may turn out to be good players in the future.
Would you want the Knicks to trade for Oladipo, and if so, for how much?