Philadelphia 76ers: Pros and cons of trading for Victor Oladipo
Why the Philadelphia 76ers should trade for Victor Oladipo.
A healthy Victor Oladipo is one of the more versatile scoring guards in the league. He can take you off the dribble, drive and finish with both hands, excellent mid-range game, and he’s a respectable 3-point shooter. His ability to put the ball on the floor and attack driving lanes open up the offense for his teammates, and he’s a solid playmaker as well, averaging 4.6 assists per game on the season 3.9 for his career.
Oladipo is averaging 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game through his first twenty appearances. Now I know the numbers don’t necessarily jump off the screen but allow me to put this into perspective. Only four players in the entire NBA are averaging at least 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game this season, the other three being Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler.
Not only is Oladipo a prolific scorer, but he’s also a menace on defense. He ranks eighth in the NBA with 3.1 deflections per game and has drawn the sixth-most charges (9). Of all the players to appear in at least 20 games and average at least 30 minutes per game, only Rudy Gobert and LeBron James have registered a better defensive rating than Oladpio’s 104.6.
The beauty of Oladipo’s offensive skill set is that he is capable of leading the bench unit or play alongside the starters. At the time of this writing, the Philadelphia 76ers bench ranks 27th in points (31.9), 29th in assists (5.4), and 11th in turnovers (5.2) per game.
Oladipo is clearly a starting-caliber player, but adding him to the bench unit will give them a much-needed leader and a scoring boost. Oladipo can be featured in a super sixth-man role while being the de facto point guard off the bench, even though he will likely share the court with Tyrese Maxey or Shake Milton.
His ability to play on or off the ball will allow him to be the secondary playmaker to Ben Simmons should he run with the starters. Whether Doc Rivers chooses to shake things up and put him in the starting lineup or have him come off the bench, he will almost certainly be in the closing lineup.
Imagine a closing lineup of Simmons, Oladipo, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid; it’s going to be pretty tough to score against that group and almost equally as tough to stop them from putting the ball through the basket.