Report: Knicks lose out on Victor Oladipo, guard lands in Miami [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Victor Oladipo has been traded to the Heat, per reports. The Knicks missed out on a chance to land the former All-Star. The Heat traded Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a draft swap for Dipo.

The New York Knicks and Miami Heat are reluctant to give up a premium package to acquire G Victor Oladipo from the Houston Rockets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday afternoon. The most notable part of the report from Woj is that it is very clear the Rockets are going to move Dipo before the NBA Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. The Rockets believed that Dipo could form a nice 3-headed dragon with John Wall and Christian Wood. Those aspirations haven’t exactly worked out since the James Harden trade. Now, the Rockets will try and ship off all the players they can to get more assets for their rebuild.

Oladipo has started 20 games since the trade to Houston. He’s averaging around 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per contest. It wasn’t too long ago when Oladipo was an All-Star in his first season with the Indiana Pacers. Things didn’t work out in Indy and the team shipped him to Houston as part of the four-team deal that landed Harden in Brooklyn. If you remember last season, Dipo was the player asking the Toronto Raptors to take him (or something along those lines).

Both the Knicks and Heat could use Dipo’s services. The Knicks lack experience and depth in the back court. Plus, they’ve had to deal with a ton of injuries. Adding Oladipo to a core of RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin would keep New York competitive. The problem is the Rockets could want Quickley back in a deal for Oladipo (which is absurd, but we get it).

The Heat also have a lot of solid assets they could give up for Oladipo. The issue is the risk of Oladipo’s contract. He’ll become a free agent after this season and it’s not clear if he’d re-sign or test the open market. With that risk, Miami may not want to give up a top asset like Kendrick Nunn, Precious Achiuwa, Duncan Robinson, etc.