Victor Oldaipo's tenure with the Houston Rockets lasted just 20 games. The Rockets offloaded the two-time All-Star during Thursday's trade deadline, sending him to the Miami Heat. This put an abrupt end to Oladipo's time in Houston after just around two months following his arrival in mid-January.
Houston general manager Rafael Stone has spoken out about the team's rationale behind trading away Oladipo, and as it turns out, it all came down to the 6-foot-4 guard's fit with the team:
“We had organizationally made a decision the Victor fit wasn't a good one,” Stone said, via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
In exchange for Oladipo, the Heat sent over Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley, and a 2022 first-round pick. The Rockets have now engaged in a full rebuild, and according to Stone, adding vets to their core of young players is going to be key to their success moving forward:
Stone cited a "rebuild construct" and of the value of having veterans such as Olynyk and Bradley be part of that.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 29, 2021
On paper, this deal appears to be a win-win for both parties, with the Heat now able to bolster their squad with a two-way stud in Oladipo.
As for the Rockets, though, where does this put John Wall? While Houston did not move the five-time All-Star prior to the deadline, his future with the team remains uncertain. At 30 years of age, Wall does not exactly fall in line with the team's current timeline especially how they are now expected to turn their attention to youth development (or in other words, full tank mode).
Wall is still owed a whopping $133 million over the next three years (including this season) and he's clearly going to take up a huge chunk of Houston's salary cap. It will be interesting to see how the Rockets intend to move forward with regards to Wall's current situation. At this point, it would not be surprising if the former first overall pick ends up leaving Houston in the summer.
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