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

Houston Rockets: Victor Oladipo trade to the Golden State Warriors #2

This trade sees the Warriors keep all of their draft picks but to get Victor Oladipo they’ll need to give up James Wiseman, the number-two overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, and Kelly Oubre for salary purposes. This trade is a move that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the Warriors to compete now but there are merits to a move like this.

Wiseman is incredibly raw and if he becomes an impact player, it won’t be until after the Warriors core-trio are out of their primes. The mitigating factor for the Warriors is that they own the Timberwolves 2021 first-round pick if it lands out of the top-four and it then becomes unprotected in 2022.

The 2021 draft has been hyped since many of these prospects were 16-years-old and many analysts have said that four or five players from this draft would have easily gone number one overall in 2020. Wiseman might have been the number-two overall pick in 2020 but not all drafts are created equal and if he were to be in the 2021 draft he might not even be in the top-ten.

Not to sell Wiseman short, his potential is sky-high but it does him no good playing on a team that is in win-now mode. The concerns with Wiseman’s game coming out were his feel for the game and his shot selection.

Playing on a team with veteran offensive focal points that are trying to win every game means that the Warriors have to have a short leash with Wiseman’s growing pains and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. For him to reach his potential he needs to be in an environment where he’s allowed to fail so he can grow his game.

The potential for Wiseman to become an elite stretch-five who anchors a defense will always be there but in Golden State, he won’t have the opportunities to get the type of touches he needs to learn NBA basketball the hard way. The Rockets are in a position to give Wiseman a long leash and see if they can unleash one of the most talented, yet raw, prospects in the NBA.

Next: Trade #1