Ideal trade partners for the Indiana Pacers
With the idea of a possible trade in mind, there are really four teams that stand-out above the rest of the league as ideal trade partners for the Indiana Pacers. Those teams are the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, and New York Knicks.
The reasoning goes: if the Pacers are going to trade Oladipo to a contender they’d probably want it to be a Western Conference one so Oladipo can’t possibly scorn them in the playoffs. If they do trade in the East, they should look to younger teams still building in prime-markets where Oladipo would prime to re-sign.
For the first two teams, the reasoning is pretty simple. With Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis leading the way in Dallas, they clearly are in win-now mode. Any future assets that the team might not want they could be willing to give Indiana in order to go all-in with a Doncic-Oladipo-Porzingis big three that could make a serious title run in 2021.
The Phoenix Suns are a team that also would have the motivation to take a risk on Oladipo in his final year because they have young guard Devin Booker who is reportedly itching to win games and be seen on the national spotlight. Risking what could be a lottery pick this year, and one of their younger players to contend with Booker, Oladipo, and big man Deandre Ayton might be the Suns’ best move for the future.
With the two Eastern Conference teams, both the Bulls and Knicks are looking to be relevant again and may be willing to part significant assets to Indiana so Oladipo could help them, especially since they’d have the future cap-space to pay him a max contract too.
For the Chicago Bulls, this might be the first big swing Atruras Karnisovas makes, a potential swap of Zach LaVine for Victor Oladipo with a protected first-round pick or a young player like Chandler Hutchinson could keep Indiana in the same spot their in now while Chicago improves its horrible defense and gets a star to continue to grow their young talent around.
With the New York Knicks, there’s already been plenty of rumors about Oladipo being on their radar, and with new president Leon Rose in place, the team feels they have what it takes to make a trade for a star player. A number of extra future first-round picks, and young players on the Knicks roster maybe they turn to Indiana and overpay a little for Oladipo’s services.
In New York with the possibility of having a defensive-minded coach like Tom Thibodeau, Kenny Atkinson, or Mike Miller in place Victor Oladipo might just be the star that Knicks have been craving to take them back over the top.
No one knows exactly how this offseason will play out, but it just might include an amicable divorce between Victor Oladipo and the Indiana Pacers could be on the horizon.