The Houston Rockets at least listen to trade deals for Victor Oladipo.
The Knicks are still interested, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.
However, Oladipo remains in the game for the Knicks as the Rockets are expected to swap him on the deadline while they move into oblivion. Oladipo will be a free agent in 2021 and apparently wants to sign with the Heat. It will hire Oladipo, as the Knicks will boost their effort to fuel a seven-year playoff drought.
Knicks general manager Scott Perry was an overall second-place finisher for Oladipo in 2013, and he was a proponent of a potential trade. But Perry is no longer the best decision maker.
It’s Leon Rose, who also realizes that Oldipo and the emerging RJ Barrett play the same role in the offense. He also knows that Oladipo has not returned to his All-NBA form after his injury, he recently missed a handful of games with a foot injury (the last in a series of injuries), and while scoring 20 points per game , he shoots just 33.1% of three. The Knicks will also have to give up multiple players to meet Oladipo’s $ 21 million salary (Frank Ntilikina, Alec Burks and Austin Rivers, because Oladipo can work, but would the Rockets want the players?)
The bigger question is: can the Knicks sign Oladipo again if they trade for him? For a long time, the buzz around the league is that Oladipo wants to leave for Miami as a free agent; the Knicks may have to pay too much to keep him. New York also does not want to give up much to hire Oladipo for a playoff game this season.
The Knicks want to win the playoffs and will consider a trade that will help them in the short term. New York may be active on the deadline.
Whether that would include Oladipo is another question.