Victor Oladipo Traded to the Rockets: My Thoughts

Yesterday, the Indiana Pacers traded Victor Oladipo to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Caris LeVert and a second round pick in a mega 4-team deal that also involved disgruntled James Harden going to the Brooklyn Nets. Honestly, it's still taking time for that to sink in--Vic being traded, I mean. Mind you, Harden has a "bigger name," but the Vic deal caught my attention the most.

I was hoping they could've built a championship team(s) with/around Vic--which you will see if you read my posts from previous years--the potential was there, but between nasty, nagging injuries and rumors of him wanting out of Indiana, that possibility never came to pass with him.

What also came to mind was the Pacers actually drafted LeVert back in 2016, but was then traded to the Nets for Thaddeus Young. Now that I've had a chance to think over everything, my theory is that they planned to trade Vic all along. He tore his quad in 2018-19, and he barely played since then. When he was there, you could clearly see the injury affected his game. While he was still productive, he wasn't the same player he was in 2018.

Fast forward to this season, when I watched him in the regular season opener against the Knicks, he looked active, he was moving at top speed with no restrictions. It didn't look as if the injury hindered his movement and game anymore. He looked like the 2018 Vic, and I think that's what the Pacers brass was counting on. Get his value back up, because his stock dropped a little bit due to the aforementioned about the injuries, now that's he's playing at an All-Star level again and the fact that he's in a contract year, move him while they have the chance, while they can still get good value for him in return.

This leads me to LeVert. While doesn't have the "name" Vic has, he has a similar skill set in that he too is a two-way player who fills up the stat sheet. LeVert is bigger; Vic is a little better from the stripe, but I don't think LeVert is turnover prone like Vic is. For all of his big game, clutch play, Vic will habitually turn the ball over, even in crucial moments.

Caris Levert (22) during his 51-point performance. Photo Credit: Brian Babineau/Getty Images.

Speaking of clutch, in case anyone is questioning LeVert's ability to make big plays in crunch time, let me remind you of the game he had against the Boston Celtics last year, where he forced a foul against Marcus Smart, made three clutch free throws to send the game into overtime, scoring 51 points (29 of the Nets' final 35 points) in a comeback win. Not saying he's an official clutch player after one game, but what I am saying is the ability is there.

In the end, I hate to see Vic go, but I think they got some darn good value in return, so I'm not tripping over it.