As the season has progressed it’s become clear that the Philadelphia 76ers need a player who can create their own offense and offense for others. However, realistically, there aren’t that many players that fit that bill who are available leading up to the trade deadline.
Players like Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, and Kyle Lowry have been written about on this website as potential targets. However, it seems unlikely that any of those players will be available at the deadline.
Beal and the Washington Wizards are 7-3 during their last 10 games and are only two games out of the eighth spot. LaVine and the Chicago Bulls are 0.5 games out of the eighth spot, while also being winners of six of their past 10 games. Despite Lowry missing games recently, the Toronto Raptors are in the seventh spot after the slow start to the season.
It seems less than likely that they will be available around the deadline, however, there is one star who should be available in Victor Oladipo of the Houston Rockets.
Why Oladipo should be available for the Philadelphia 76ers and what it would take to get him.
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It’s clear that the Houston Rockets are heading to a rebuild. They are losers of their past 12 games and are the second-worst team in the Western Conference. It should also be noted that despite the need for more size, they released veteran center DeMarcus Cousins, who was having a solid season after multiple injuries, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
They had already traded away superstar James Harden this season and landed Oladipo in the deal. Since coming to Houston, the shooting guard has struggled shooting the ball, impart because of poor floor spacing produced by the team as a whole.
Despite the Rockets recently offering Oladipo a two-year extension worth about $45.2 million, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, he turned it down. That, along with the other previously mentioned facts, this appears that the team is heading in the direction of trading the former two-time All-Star.
Now there are reasons to trade for him and not to trade for him, but there’s a path in landing Oladipo for the Sixers. Potential trade below is one way to get a deal done.
This is a win-now move for the 76ers and helps the Rockets clear salary-cap space as well. Danny Green, Mike Scott, and Furkan Korkmaz are all on expiring contracts. Korkmaz can be a piece of the future for Houston if they decide to re-sign him this upcoming offseason. The Rockets also get a first round pick this year and a lottery-protected first in 2023 which turns into two second round picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts respectively.
Not a bad deal for a player who Houston probably can’t re-sign in free agency. For Philly, they get a guy who can create his own shot but who wouldn’t have the pressure of being the first or second option on a contender.
With guys like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons sucking in the defense, it would surely give Oladipo more space to shoot open shots and become more efficient. If healthy, he can be the missing piece that could help the Sixers make a deep playoff push.
While Christopher Kline of The Sixer Sense wrote about how Oladipo is a gettable star in the past, that is when he was on the Indiana Pacers and not with the Rockets. It’s fair to say with the Rockets situation, he’s even more obtainable for the Philadelphia 76ers heading up to the trade deadline.