NBA Rumors: 5 trade destinations for Victor Oladipo

It’s obvious that the New Orleans Pelicans already have a true superstar in former No. 1 pick power forward Anthony Davis. However, it’s no so obvious how the Pelicans’ front office will go about surrounding Davis with great complimentary players to orchestrate regular playoff appearances in the deep Western Conference.

The Pelicans made countless mistakes during the 2015 offseason, but could get themselves heading in the right direction by making a trade with the Orlando Magic for shooting guard Victor Oladipo. While the Pelicans already have players like Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, and Jrue Holiday in their backcourt, all are injury prone and don’t have as high of a ceiling as does Oladipo.

Oladipo still doesn’t have a great jump shot in his third year in the league, but could become a great perimeter defender if playing in the right system. Alvin Gentry has not had any success coaching the Pelicans in 2015-16, but is supposedly one of the better defensive minds in the NBA. Oladipo seems more inclined to play defense than any of the guards on the Pelicans’ roster.

Since Orlando feels confident about going with Evan Fournier at starting shooting guard over Oladipo, they may want to look for a go-to scorer off the bench for their team. Gordon seems like a perfect sixth man playing for the Magic, giving Orlando a much-needed boost off the bench, particularly when small forward Tobias Harris and center Nikola Vucevic are catching their breath on the sidelines.

Oladipo still has room to grow as a player and he could become the perfect No. 2 to play alongside Davis in New Orleans for the foreseeable future. The Pelicans would have Oladipo through the end of next season before having to renegotiate for a new deal for him to stay in New Orleans long-term.

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