A Gordon Hayward-Victor Oladipo swap sounds like a lose-lose

Both Gordon Hayward and Victor Oladipo are on the trade market.

The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics are both looking to shake things up after playoff exits last season, and Victor Oladipo’s inability to totally squash trade rumors has some thinking that the former Hoosier might be moved to a contending team like Boston.

Both Oladipo and Gordon Hayward are on the trade market right now, with the Pacers expressing some interest in the former Butler star despite the fact that bringing Hayward back to Indianapolis would be a very poor deal for the Pacers. If the Pacers think Oladipo could be traded and Hayward can replace him, Kevin Pritchard needs his head examined.

Gordon Hayward in Indiana and Victor Oladipo in Boston wouldn’t work

Hayward’s 17.5 points per game last year show that he can, at the very least, become an above-average scorer in the league post-injury. However, swapping Oladipo for Hayward would. essentially mean Nate Bjorkgren will ask an already suspect defender and soon-to-be 31-year-old to be a leading scorer and top-notch defender. Hayward isn’t that type of player anymore, and that makes a like-for-like swap to bring him back home very unlikely.

Oladipo is a legitimate star on both ends of the floor if healthy, which is a huge question mark. And even if he is healthy, his style of play might not mesh well in Boston. Oladipo is going to need the ball in his hands more than Hayward to be an effective scorer, which could be a bit problematic for a team that has Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown sharing the scoring load. Unless Oladipo is willing to accept a minimized scoring role, Boston can be safely ruled out as a potential landing spot.

If this trade actually goes down, one side would get an injury-prone scorer with his best days clearly behind him, while the other will get a ball-dominant wing that would be a very incongruous fit. Both teams are best served to leave this trade alone.