NBA Trade Grades: Miami Heat get Victor Oladipo from the Rockets
By Duncan Smith
NBA trade grades for the Miami Heat
The Miami Heat seem to have made out like bandits in this deal, even if you aren’t a big believer in Victor Oladipo’s ability to move the needle. He showed signs of being the former All-Star before getting traded to the Rockets in the blockbuster four-team deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, but his performance in Houston wasn’t anything to get excited over.
Of course, some of that could simply be the fact that he wasn’t invested in the Rockets (nobody appears to be these days) and had his eyes firmly locked on South Beach, so there’s some chance he’s going to spring to life when he puts on that Heat uniform and shift back into All-Star Oladipo.
Maybe, maybe not.
He thrived playing off the ball alongside Malcolm Brogdon and Damontas Sabonis with the Pacers, and he may be able to do just the same thing with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Oladipo may not be the player he once was, but for the defending Eastern Conference champions, he gives the Heat way more than Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk ever could.
This isn’t a huge win for the Heat, but it’s a win nonetheless.