While Houston’s commercial return from Miami to Victor Oladipo seems a bit disheartening, some of the apparent motivation for the Rockets was based on something that was not in the Heat’s final package.
Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets met the deadline – instead of keeping Oladipo and trying to move him into an off-season deal – because they wanted to give 20-year-old keeper Kevin Porter Jr. more time to play alongside John Wall.
Feigen writes:
The Rockets made the switch because they prioritized starting Kevin Porter Jr. on a backcourt with John Wall and giving Porter consistent playing time, according to two individuals with knowledge of the team’s thinking.
Oladipo’s move became an essential part of that plan. This may also indicate that after 20 increasingly disappointing games, they decided that they would not continue to keep Oladipo as a free agent, leading to the decision to get what they could for him on time.
New #Rockets at the #TXSN – Rockets go from James Harden to Victor Oladipo to … what, why? https://t.co/9xuEX2xPqz
– Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 26, 2021
In seven games with the Rockets, Porter – a choice from the first round of the 2019 NBA draft – averages 14.9 points and 6.4 assists in 29.1 minutes per game. He started four of those seven games, but only when at least one of Oladipo and Wall was sidelined.
Although the six-foot-two owner was primarily a shipowner in Houston, the recent acquisition of DJ Augustin would likely allow Porter to play most of his minutes as a shipowner.
The Rockets felt they needed to move Victor Oladipo now so that they could pave the way to develop Kevin Porter Jr. for the rest of the season, according to the source. In the end, this combined with the return (although disappointing) being better than a return of signal and exchange is the reason why they negotiated with him.
– ClutchFans (@clutchfans) March 25, 2021