There’s “little” belief among NBA personnel that Victor Oladipo will be able to play much – if at all – during the 2023/24 season as he continues to recover from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Kelly Iko and John Hollinger of The Athletic agree that Oladipo will likely be sidelined for most or all of the coming season.
However, a source with knowledge of the the team’s plans tells The Athletic that the Rockets intend to keep Oladipo under contract until February’s deadline if they can’t trade him before then.
As Hollinger explains, being able to use Oladipo’s expiring $9.45M contract in a subsequent trade was Houston’s prime motivating factor for giving up two second-round picks in its deal with Oklahoma City. The thinking is that the Rockets will be able to carry Oladipo well into the season if necessary, which may not have been a viable path with Kevin Porter Jr., given the optics of his domestic assault charges and the fact that his partial guarantee for 2024/25 would have increased if he remained under contract through opening night.
While Oladipo may make a better trade chip at this point than Porter, the 31-year-old’s knee injury means that he won’t have positive value either. If the Rockets want to acquire a rotation player using his expiring salary, they’ll have to give up additional assets beyond the two second-round picks they surrendered to land him.
Alec Burks and Talen Horton-Tucker are among the potential trade targets that have already been connected to Houston.
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