Victor Oladipo is Gone
On Wednesday afternoon, January 13th, 2021 breaking news came out through the NBA world. Former MVP James Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for many first rounds picks and players. How does this include Pacers fan favorite Victor Oladipo you might ask? The Indiana Pacers traded Oladipo to the Houston Rockets in return for Caris Levert and a second-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets. This deal included four teams and I will break down the Pacers’ side of the trade and my thoughts on the subject.
Losing Oladipo took me a while to comprehend and think about his time with the Pacers. Oladipo, a former Indiana Hoosier, was traded for former Pacers Superstar Paul George in the summer of 2017. I remember that night being very depressing for the young Pacer fan I was. Paul George was my favorite player in the whole league and a person I grew up watching. Oladipo soon turned into an NBA All-Star and the Pacers’ new number 1 guy. Victor soon the season after had a season-ending knee injury and is still trying to regain that All-Star form. Last season he tried to return by the end of the season and he wasn’t the same. During this summer he was asking for a new contract extension with the Pacers if not he would request a trade.
Going into the 2020-2021 NBA season expectations were as follows for the Pacers. Make the playoffs and try to get out of the first round. The Pacers started the season with a nice 7-4 record and sitting pretty with the fourth-best record in the East. Then boom Oladipo is traded to Houston. I was very surprised and shocked by the whole situation. I knew he wanted out but I thought the Pacers wouldn’t trade him. But after a while, I agree with this move a lot. Caris Levert is a 26-year-old shooting guard out of Michigan University and is a STUD in the sport of basketball. Levert averages 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists as the third option for the Nets team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. He will fill the role as the second option for the Pacers and can average around 22-24 points per game in my personal opinion. Levert is a natural scorer with a silky smooth jumper from outside the three-point line. He can score at all three levels of the court and is a skilled playmaker. I also loved this trade due to his contract. Levert will be in Indiana for the next 3 years for 52 Million dollars. On the other hand, Oladipo only had 1 year left on his deal and is a free agent after this season.
The Blockbuster trade that happened last Wednesday shocked the league and will change how the season will go on. I believe that the Pacers won the trade and are setting themselves up for a nice future ahead. I know we will take some hits early with chemistry issues but once we get that team chemistry up we will be a weapon and an opponent you wouldn’t want to see in the first round. I will miss Victor and I’m also glad that we got Caris, so like that classic quote is out with the old and in with the new is perfect for this trade.
Matt Minnick • May 12, 2021 at 10:10 am
Great article! This was nice to read because I knew that Oladipo got traded, but I didn’t know for who or all of the teams that were involved in the trade.
Gannon Davis • Mar 3, 2021 at 9:50 am
Great article Jack! It does suck that the Pacers lost Victor Oladipo. He was a very good player for Indiana. I hope when Caris Levert is healthy he will make the team great and we may make it farther in the playoffs. Keep up the outstanding writing!
Enoch Hines • Feb 23, 2021 at 2:02 pm
Great article! Losing Oladipo is a big deal for the Pacers but they need to move on. They did a trade they must do to help the future of the organization. This was very well written Jack. Keep up the great writing!
Olivia Packard • Feb 23, 2021 at 8:07 am
You did super well on this article Jack! I know nothing about basketball, but this got me a little bit interested! Keep doing the awesome writing!
Braxton Armstrong • Feb 19, 2021 at 2:35 pm
Great article! I really enjoyed reading this article and it was very well written. I am very excited to see how Caris does this season and I think he will end u being a great asset. Keep up the great work!
Gavin Griffin • Feb 10, 2021 at 9:51 am
I think this was a very good article because this article was helpful to me because I did not know that Caris Levert was traded to the Indiana Pacers.
Colton Copeland • Feb 10, 2021 at 9:46 am
I was very interested about this topic. I don’t know much about basketball and I did not know that Victor Odilapo was traded to the Rockets. Overall I liked reading this article.
Bella Panmei • Feb 8, 2021 at 9:23 am
This was a really interesting read since I do not watch a lot of sports on television and am not well versed in the players either. I find it really cool and weird how people are traded with teams and have to switch and stuff. I still do not really know or understand the whole concept of it all but this helped widen my knowledge on it. Keep up the good writing!