New signing at Houston Rockets of USA, Victor Oladipo is surprisingly still drawing keen transfer attention, despite having only moved to Texas from Indiana Pacers at the start of the current season, megasportsarena.com reports.
In what appears to be a bizarre scenario unfolding round the Cupid-faced Nigerian-born lad, Oladipo is said to be drawing trade interest from New York Knicks and a couple of other teams in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA).
Megasportsaena.com gathered that The Knicks are among an unfolding roll call of NBA teams that are potentially interested in swooping for The Rockets’ guard before this season’s March 25 trade deadline.
This much has been offered by Bleacher Report’s A. Sherrod Blakely, who noted that Oladipo is playing well for The Rockets, who entered Wednesday with an NBA-best winning streak of six straight games, the youngster could be convinced to move on.
This is despite the fact that his contract expires after the current season, but Houston’s general manager, Rafael Stone reportedly does not feel that Oladipo is a long-term financial fit for the team and they could decide to explore trade options for him, in order to avoid the risk of losing the two-time All-Star for no compensation.
Blakely added in his latest column: “Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo will be a name to keep an eye on. The former All-Star has had a slew of injuries in recent years but is among the more talented two-way players when healthy.
“League sources say the Knicks are among the teams interested in Oladipo and will be closely monitoring the impending free agent’s play leading up to the deadline and beyond if he’s not moved by then.
“Oladipo, who was acquired by Houston in mid-January as part of the blockbuster James Harden trade, is averaging 21.0 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 31.7 minutes per game with the Rockets.
“In a local radio interview last week, Stone said the Rockets were hopeful of keeping the 28-year-old on a longer-term basis. His comments: I hope so. We’ve had a lot of conversations.
“’He’s been a great addition, not just on the court, but off the court. A really, really good guy. In our talks with Vic, it’s more, let’s get to know each other.
“’Hopefully this is a wonderful marriage. Again, his first practice with the team. I think he really enjoys his teammates and his coaches. I know he and coach Silas are going to spend some time today looking at film. We’re trying to build. So, I very much hope so — that’s what I would say.’”
“Oladipo has made it clear in interviews that he’s happy in Houston. But that doesn’t guarantee that the sides will be aligned, financially. At the moment, Oladipo is only eligible to sign a two-year extension with the Rockets for $45.2 million.
“However, as of June 21, he will be able to sign a four-year deal to stay in Houston for up to $112.9 million. Oladipo will turn 29 years old in May, so he might want extra years of security. While the Rockets and Oladipo can’t put pen to paper on most longer-term proposals before the March 25 deadline.
“They could attempt to have an understanding as to whether it’s viable — both from Oladipo’s perspective regarding his desire to stay, as well as from the team’s side and whether they deem him worthy of that type of major investment.
“The Rockets and Oladipo don’t need a resolution today, but it’s a storyline worth monitoring in the coming weeks. Houston would have Bird rights on Oladipo in free agency, which could theoretically open up sign-and-trade possibilities, should the two sides not agree on a long-term deal to keep him in Houston.
“But, with a shortage of star free agents and numerous teams having cap room, a big name such as Oladipo might not need help in the 2021 offseason to get to his next destination. In turn, that could make it risky to bet on the potential of a sign-and-trade.”
