Victor Oladipo Was BEGGING Teams To Trade For Him In The Middle Of Games Last Season
I am all for player empowerment. You should be able to play wherever you want as far as I'm concerned. You should also, yanno, have some level of decorum about it. There are plenty of proper channels to go about requesting a trade that don't completely fracture a franchise and belittle your teammates. Begging the KNICKS to trade for you in front of Myles Turner and Malcolm Brogden??? That indefensible. Inexcusable. Downright unfathomable.
Victor Oladipo is a solid player. He was trending higher before an injury set him back and now it appears his time in Indiana is up. He's been in trade rumors all offseason and no one quite knows where his value lies. Is he a lead guard, can he shoot well enough to play off ball, will his athleticism fully rebound for an entire season after being injured, will he come to your new team and start acting like he's the best player in the League and too good for whichever franchise he happens to be playing for at that given time? These are the questions a GM must consider before acquiring him. The last of which may be the most troublesome.
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You want to play with Giannis or Jimmy Butler or the Raptors, I get it. I really do. But this is a man who began his career in ORLANDO. He's seen the worst of the worst. Indiana isn't exactly South Beach or Los Angeles, but good Lord man, have some respect for yourself here. The Knicks???
This is the kind of shit that is turning some people off from the NBA. I don't believe anyone truly gets that bent out of shape when free agents swap jerseys, that happens in every sport every single year. But once you put pen to paper and sign yourself up for four years with a squad, honor that deal. If things are truly that bad, talk to the GM. Have your agent request a trade behind the scenes. You can't be in the middle of the court getting shuttlecocked by your opponent begging them to come save you. That's insanity. Go to the All Star Game and make these plans in a hallway with multiple cameras on you, make Team USA and conspire with a couple of the other best players in the world to move to Miami together in a year or two like an adult.