Milwaukee Bucks: 3 reasons for pursuing a trade for Victor Oladipo
By Dalton Sell
Milwaukee Bucks: 3 reasons to pursue a Victor Oladipo trade – Oladipo’s defensive prowess
The Bucks led the league with a historically great defense this season, and there’s no question that Victor Oladipo is a player that would fit right in.
It’s hard to think about now, given everything that has transpired in the time since, but Oladipo’s 2017-18 campaign saw him become an All-Star for the first time, receive his first and only All-NBA selection to date and earn an All-Defensive first team selection. All while leading the league in steals by averaging an astounding 2.4 thefts per game.
Having averaged 1.7 steals per game over his seven-year career, Oladipo’s knack for defending the perimeter in general has terrorized opponents into miscues on a nightly basis, even after suffering his devastating injury close to two years ago. As Caitlin Cooper of Indy Cornrows wrote after Oladipo’s first 13 games this season:
"“Oladipo has successfully forced a turnover on 81 percent of his attempted charges. For point of reference, that matches the rate he posted last season prior to rupturing his quad tendon, and after missing a year of basketball, he’s already nearly tallied as many charge calls to blocking fouls (13:3) in 23 fewer games (9:2).”"
If the Bucks do ship out Bledsoe and DiVincenzo this offseason, they’re going to have some holes to fill on defense, and Oladipo would certainly be a strong suitor. If Oladipo can regain that defensive presence if and when he is back to full strength, he would fit like a glove within the league’s best defense without question.