2020 NBA Draft: 5 teams that should trade for Timberwolves’ No. 1 pick

5. Indiana Pacers

Contract talks have stalled between Victor Oladipo and the Indiana Pacers, and it’s fairly obvious why: No one knows what on earth to expect from Oladipo in 2020-21, the final year of his contract. While he showed flashes of his old brilliance upon his long-awaited return from a quadriceps tear, he was largely rusty and inconsistent, throwing  Indiana off its rhythm that was established in the first half of the season without him.

The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing NBA hiatus didn’t make Oladipo’s recovery process any easier, and he may be worth a one-year flier for some teams if they feel they can bring him back to stardom and then re-sign him in 2021.

Picturing a two-way perimeter force like Oladipo on this Wolves team is a tantalizing prospect, assuming he can get back to his old self again. He’d cover for some of the defensive flaws of Russell and KAT, teaming up with guys like Okogie and Jarrett Culver to help lock down the wing. Anything he could provide offensively would be a bonus for a team that already boasts two reliable scorers.

For the Pacers, this deal would get them out potentially overpaying to keep Oladipo with an extension, or it’d avoid losing him for nothing in free agency next summer. Indiana already fared well enough without him last season, and adding another burgeoning talent to a younger core of Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. Warren would set this team up nicely for the future. All that would be needed is for James Johnson to be willing to spend the last year of his contract in Indiana by opting into his $16 million player option.