NBA Free Agency: 3 best landing spots for Victor Oladipo

Destinations for Victor Oladipo in NBA free agency: 3. Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are under pressure to find ways to improve their roster as their star, Damian Lillard, has serious doubts that they could win a championship as currently constituted. The closest NBA reporter to Damian Lillard, Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, wrote a story in late April stating that the Blazers should acquire another star to pair with Lillard as they won’t be able to win a championship with the current roster.

Unfortunately, the Trailblazers only have two ways to upgrade the team: gut their entire roster or use their exceptions. Portland is slated to be $3.1 million over the cap, meaning that they can’t be in the mix for the top free agents this off-season.

Consequently, they could go down one of two avenues: use the pieces on the roster to get draft picks to be in the mix to acquire a superstar from another team. Over the past two years, draft picks have been the centerpiece of several blockbuster trades to get impact players.

For example, the Milwaukee Bucks traded two 1st round picks and two pick swaps to acquire Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans. Two months later, the Brooklyn Nets traded four first-round picks to acquire James Harden from the Houston Rockets.

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Unfortunately for Portland, the only superstar who may be available on the market this off-season is their star. Therefore, the only realistic way to upgrade the roster is by using their exceptions.

Victor Oladipo would be a perfect candidate for the Portland Trailblazers to use their mid-level exception on. The Portland Trailblazers were 8th in pick and roll possessions, averaging 22.8 per game. They shot 42.1 percent from the field on 18.5 shots per game, creating 22.9 points.

Portland’s offensive history would be in Victor Oladipo’s wheelhouse as his best season came during the 2017-18 campaign when he averaged a career-high: 8.6 pick and rolls per game. He shot 46 percent from the field on the pick and rolls in 6.8 shots per game, creating 8 points: 34.6 percent of his scoring output.

The career-high in pick and rolls led Victor Oladipo to get his first all-star appearance. As a result, it would be a perfect fit for both parties as the Portland Trailblazers have experience in the area of Oladipo’s strengths, and the team is desperate to upgrade the roster to keep its superstar happy.

In conclusion, Victor Oladipo needs to go to a team that features pick and rolls and has a realistic shot at making the playoffs due to his timetable for returning to action.