Startling information of United States of America indicates that Nigerian-born basketball youngster, Victor Oladipo could be on the way out of Houston Rockets, less than six months after joining them from Indiana Pacers, megasportsarena.com reports.
Two back-to-back seasons riddle with injuries left Oladipo frustrated in Indiana and beat a retreat to Houston, Texas at the end of the past campaign, but his stay at Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon’s former club may end up being very short.
This is sequel to information on offer from God’s Own Country indicating that Oladipo could join Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry among the big names that could be moved before USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) trade deadline at 3pm on Thursday.
Miami Heat and hometown 76ers are reportedly pursuing Lowry, who was born in Philadelphia and starred at Villanova, and there also appears to be a strong likelihood that The Rockets would move Oladipo.
These permutations were discussed by a panel of NBA experts and leading basketball writers, Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina, J. Michael Falgoust of Indianapolis Star, Jim Owczarski of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic, moderated by USA Today’s Matt Eppers.
Zillgitt opined: “Houston realizes keeping Victor Oladipo isn’t realistic — and realize getting something for him will be difficult since he’s a free agent after this season. Makes it tough on the Rockets. If a team can cough up a first-rounder, Houston will take it.”
Falgoust added: “Speaking of Miami, that’s been Oladipo’s preferred destination for the last year or so. But the caveat that’s overlooked is he wants a max contract. That’s why he’s hitting the market. He was never signing an extension anywhere.
“He’s made that clear the last two years when the Pacers first made in an offer. The catch is he’s no longer 2017-18 Oladipo. But there aren’t many shooting guards on the market this offseason. He’s playing the supply-demand game with that which is probably a solid risk on his part.”
A report by NBC Sports writer, Drew Shiller added: The Warriors first were linked to Victor Oladipo a little over two weeks ago. But how interested are they in seriously pursuing a trade for the No. 2 overall pick from the 2013 draft?
Shiller also noted that Oladipo — who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer — is shooting below 41 percent from the field and 32 percent from beyond the arc through 29 games this season, concluding that the two-time NBA All-Star almost certainly will be traded before Thursday’s deadline.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski also wrote: “There’s strong confidence [Houston will] execute a deal. The Rockets are increasingly comfortable with the offers on Oladipo in the marketplace, which include young players and first-round pick combinations that the franchise believes are suitable returns to make a deal.”
