Indiana Pacers of America sensation, Victor Oladipo is reportedly attracting transfer attention from a number of rival clubs in USA’s prestigious National Basketball Association (NBA), megasportsarena.com reports.
Although the Nigerian-born lad is only back in training after almost a year out with injury, his appearances before the current season was suspended on account of coronavirus left many suitors in awe, and they have now turned their attractions into transfer moves.
With many eyes now turned on Oladipo, the situation has led to fresh heat at Pacers, who are already locked into some big money contracts involving Malcolm Brogdon at three-years, $65m after this term, Myles Turner’s $54m for three years, Domantas Sabonis‘ four-year $77 million extension next season as well as both T.J. Warren and Jeremy Lamb at more than $10 million.
A report by Kurt Helin of NBC Sports adds that, although Oladipo just returned to the court and only recently starting to round into shape after a major injury, the lad is already attracting some transfer talks, as he has only one more season after this one, and could be on sale for at $21m.
He and The Pacers’ management recently talked about the possibility of an extension briefly but tabled those talks, and Ian Begley at SNY.TV added in another report that many other teams are monitoring the player’s situation.
The report by NBC Sports stated further: “Opposing teams are keeping an eye on the situation in Indy because the club will likely have to commit significant money to Victor Oladipo in the summer of 2021 if it wants to keep him.
“The Pacers will be able to exceed the cap to sign Oladipo. But it would take a significant financial commitment from Indy to keep the foursome of Oladipo, Sabonis, Brogdon and Turner intact. The Knicks, Nets and plenty of other teams are in position to be aggressive if a player of Oladipo’s caliber becomes available via trade.
“Right now, that’s all a big “if” that hinges on how healthy Oladipo is and can he bounce back to his All-NBA level of play. While he was starting to round into form upon his return, he was not his old self, yet (nor should he be expected to be yet), and he was still developing chemistry with Brogdon.
“The sense around the league is that the Pacers would move one of their big men, Turner or Sabonis. However, those two have played well together on the front line and the Pacers have shot down trade requests for Turner in the past.
“The questions for owner Herb Simon of the Pacers become: Does he want to pay the luxury tax to keep this team together? While this Pacers team is good, is it “pay the tax” like a contender good? Throw into the mix that Simon’s money in large part comes from owning shopping malls — a sector hit hard in the current economy — and there are a lot of questions to answer.”
