The Houston Rockets are at least listening to trade offers for Victor Oladipo.
The Knicks are still interested, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Oladipo, however, remains in play for the Knicks as the Rockets are expected to trade him at the deadline as they slide into oblivion. Oladipo will be a free agent in 2021 and reportedly wants to sign with the Heat. That would make Oladipo a rental as the Knicks look to boost their bid to snap a seven-year playoff drought.
Knicks general manager Scott Perry, while with the Magic, drafted Oladipo second overall in 2013, and he has been a supporter of a potential trade. But Perry no longer is the top decision-maker.
That’s Leon Rose, who also realizes that Oldipo and the emerging RJ Barrett play the same role in the offense. He also knows that Oladipo has not returned to his All-NBA form following his injury, he recently missed a handful of games with a foot injury (the latest in a string of injuries), and while he’s averaging 20 points a game, he’s shooting just 33.1% from three. The Knicks also would need to give up multiple players to match Oladipo’s $21 million salary (Frank Ntilikina, Alec Burks, and Austin Rivers for Oladipo could work, but would the Rockets want those players?)
The bigger question is, can the Knicks’ re-sign Oladipo if they trade for him? For a long time, the buzz around the league is that Oladipo wants to head to Miami as a free agent; the Knicks might have to overpay to keep him. Also, New York would not want to give up much to rent Oladipo for a playoff push this season.
The Knicks want to make the playoffs and would consider a trade that helps them in the short term. New York could well be active at the deadline.
Whether that would include Oladipo is another question.
