Houston Rockets: 3 trades that send Victor Oladipo to the Golden State Warriors

The Houston Rockets and Victor Oladipo weren’t able to come to terms on a mid-season extension and have begun the process of shopping him around the league. With the expanded playoffs and condensed schedule, more teams than ever see themselves as playoff contenders.

The trade market is going to be ultra-competitive, much like the race for the playoffs, and the Golden State Warriors are rumored to be interested in an upgrade to pull themselves out of the ninth seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets have the best available player and the Warriors need a massive jolt if they’re going to pull away from the pack, which makes them the perfect trade partners.

The Golden State Warriors are interested in Houston Rockets’ Victor Oladipo

As reported by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor the Warriors are interested in bringing in Victor Oladipo for the stretch run. Oladipo would offer the Warriors secondary ball-handling, playmaking, and scoring to aid Stephen Curry as well as bolstering their perimeter defense.

While many teams would prefer to trade for a player under contract for multiple seasons, the Warriors are the rare example of a team that would benefit from taking a player on an expiring deal. Klay Thompson is out for the season but will return next year and his salary next season is one of the highest in the league.

On a pure need basis, Oladipo to the Warriors makes all the sense in the world, but the question will be if the Warriors are willing to pay a premium for a player that is only going to likely impact only one playoff run. The Warriors only own their 2023 and 2027 first-round picks but they do have the Minnesota Timberwolves 2021 first-round that is top-four protected and becomes unprotected the next season if it doesn’t convey.

The Rockets and Warriors were once the fiercest of rivals but a lot has changed in the days since and the bad-blood should be put aside. There is a deal to be made between the two franchises and these are three trades that will send Victor Oladipo to the Golden State Warriors.

Next: Trade #3