Dallas Mavericks: The time is right for free agent Victor Oladipo

For the better part of two years, the Dallas Mavericks have been linked to 2-time All-Star, Victor Oladipo. The former Indiana guard was an undervalued two-way player who would fit brilliantly in a Luka Doncic-led offense. It’s really no wonder fans had been relentlessly clamoring for him.

Oladipo’s injury history made him a tough valuation around the NBA. When he was on the court, he was brilliant. The problem was he wasn’t consistently on the court. Oladipo has played just 88 games over the past three seasons. Let that sink in.

Getting Victor Oladipo, who has All-Star ability for cheap, could be a tantalizing proposition for the Dallas Mavericks.

Given Victor Oladipo’s ability and injury history, he had/has a chance to either waste a franchises’ precious recourses or put them over the top. That’s why so many teams had trouble justifying a trade; who are they trading for – an All-Star or a part-time starter?

Now as a free agent, the conversation changes. Without the trade compensation obstacle to overcome, all teams like the Dallas Mavericks have to do is come to a financial agreement. The injury risk is undeniable and something Victor even has to accept at this point. That would ultimately drop his price and subsequently decrease the risk involved.

Victor Oladipo again looks like an interesting target for the Mavs. He’s played just 88 games over the past 3 seasons (33 last season) so he’s going to come cheap. He could be a low risk/high reward free agent, given his market value #MFFL
— SportDFW (@TheRealSportDFW) July 13, 2021

At 29-years-old, a short-term deal would make sense for the Mavs and Oladipo. They’d take a low risk shot at a bigtime player and he’d get a shot at rebuilding value on a playoff team. Keep in mind, despite playing on three different teams in three different systems, Oladipo still averaged 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. All while playing pretty good defense.

Obviously per game averages mean very little if the player can’t stay on the durn court, right? But Oladipo’s surgeon seems optimistic about his ability to bounce back. The injury suffered this past season is a continuation of an injury that was never properly fixed two years ago, confirmed his doctor. And he’s expecting Oladipo to be back and medically cleared by November.