Lakers Gamble on Victor Oladipo To Create Their Own Superstar Big Three

The Los Angeles Lakers have never been afraid to think big when it comes to winning NBA championships so don’t discount their making a big trade for Victor Oladipo to create a Superstar Big Three to match the Brooklyn Nets.

With the Nets’ trade for James Harden to join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving catapulting them to the top of the NBA power rankings, don’t be surprised if the Lakers counter that move with a mega trade to leapfrog back to the top. The Lakers know the Nets are the greatest threat to their repeating as NBA champions and Rob Pelinka showed last offseason he’s not willing to sit back and stand pat while his major competitors make moves to get better.

Right now, the opportunity to pull of a big trade with the Rockets for Victor Oladipo may be the Lakers’ best shot at creating a Superstar Big Three of James, Davis, and Oladipo to match the Net’s Durant, Irving, and Harden. While there are concerns about his health going forward and rumors of his signing with Miami this summer, a healthy Victor Oladipo could be the perfect third superstar to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

There’s absolutely no question the Rockets are going to trade Victor Oladipo before the trade deadline. He’s already declined their offer of a 2-year $45 million extension and will be looking for more as an free agent this summer. The good news for the Lakers is the offers the Rockets are going to receive for Oladipo are going be limited since he’s coming off a major injury and trading for him could easily end up becoming just a rental for half a season.

So let’s look at what the Lakers would have to give up to trade for Oladipo, how good a James, Davis, and Oladipo Superstar Big Three could be, and how well would they would match up against Durant, Irving, and Harden.

1. What would the Lakers have to give up to trade for Oladipo?

The best offer the Lakers should make the Rockets for 28-year old Victor Oladipo is probably a package including 28-year old Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 25-year old Kyle Kuzma, and 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker.

That’s a better package than the Rockets are likely to get from any other team. All three are talented starting or rotation players for a defending NBA championship team and possess favorable contracts and retention rights. The 25-year old Kuzma and 20-year old Horton-Tucker have legitimate star potential while the 28-year old Caldwell-Pope is championship team starter. Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope are under contract and THT has early Bird rights.

Other teams rumored to be interested in trading for Oladipo include the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, and Miami Heat, all of whom might be able to include a first round pick as part of their offer. But it’s doubtful any of these teams could offer a better package than the Lakers if you consider 20-year old coveted shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker is essentially the equivalent of a lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft.

Add Kyle Kuzma, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and what they get for PJ Tucker and Eric Gordon to center Christian Wood and suddenly the Rockets have a talented young core around which to rebuild.

2. How good could a James, Davis, Oladipo Superstar Big Three be?

The only way the Lakers can give up Kuzma, Horton-Tucker, and Caldwell-Pope for Oladipo is if they’re getting the superstar version of Victor, the player who was MIP, 3rd team All-NBA and 3rd team All-Defensive in 2018.

That version of Victor Oladipo averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 2.4 steals in 34.0 minutes per game while shooting 47.7 from the field, 37.1 from three, and 79.9% from the line for the Pacers. After just 19 games in 2020, this version of Oladipo averaged 20.0 points, 5.7 boards, 4.2 assists, 0.5 blocks, and 1.5 steals in 32.7 minutes while shooting 39.9% from the field, 33.1% from three, and 74.7% from the line this season.

Other than lower shooting percentages, Oladipo appears to be close to 100% recovered. For a 6' 4," 210 lb combo guard, he looks as fast and quick as ever, continues to be an attack dog on offense and major disruptor on defense. He’s also become a volume 3-point shooter, taking over 7 threes per game the last two years, while still attacking the rim and getting to the line 4 times per game, which is exactly what the Lakers offensive desperately needs.

Oladipo would start alongside Schroder to create one of the fastest, quickest, and grittiest backcourts in the league and enable the Lakers to always have an elite shot maker and creator on the floor all the time to complement LeBron. Playing alongside superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Victor should be able to thrive as the Lakers’ third option and raise his shooting percentages and overall play to his 2018 All-NBA and All-Defensive level.

When you consider their individual abilities to control games offensively and defensively and their fit, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Victor Oladipo should give the Lakers the best Superstar Big Three in the NBA.

3. How would James, Davis, and Oladipo Match Up Against Nets?

There are two reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers need shooting guard Victor Oladipo: they need a superstar guard to counter the Nets’ two superstar guards and a third superstar to match the Net’s three superstars.

Victor gives the Lakers the needed offensive firepower and defensive grit to go head-to-head and mostly hold their own with the Nets’ Irving and Harden backcourt without having to make up a huge negative 30 point differential. Irving and Harden average 52.7 points per game versus 23.6 points for Schroder and Caldwell-Pope. Replace KCP with Oladipo and the negative differential is reduced from 29.1 points per game to just 17.8 points.

Just as importantly, Irving and Harden score 15.6 points per game via the three while Schroder and Caldwell-Pope only score 7.5 points from threes. Oladipo reduces the negative 3-point differential from 8.1 to 5.7 points. Replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with a former All-Defensive Victor Oladipo who is quicker and faster should give the Lakers a better defensive backcourt to slow down and contain Nets’ superstars Irving and Harden.

Finally, trading for Oladipo will solve the Lakers’ math problem of having to play two against three or one against two superstars for the entire Finals and shifts the onus to the Nets to figure out how to defend James and Davis. Here’s where LeBron’s and AD’s defensive prowess come into play because both of them are not only capable but also willing to defend other teams’ top scorers regardless of position as they showed in the playoffs last year.

While Durant will keep one of James or Davis busy defensively, the other Laker front court superstar is going to be free to roam around as the team’s middle linebacker or free safety looking to help or double wherever needed. While Durant, Irving, and Harden may be the best offense in the league, the Lakers aggressive trapping and rotating defense is specifically designed to create chaos for opposing offenses and force them to change how they play.

Should they meet in the NBA Finals, defense will be where the Lakers’ Superstar Big Three of James, Davis, and Oladipo will have the advantage over the Nets’ Superstar Big Three of Durant, Irving, and Harden.

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