With emphasis on winning, Victor Oladipo ‘blessed and fortunate’ to join Rockets

Recent acquisition Victor Oladipo met with the media Sunday for the first time since his trade from Indiana to the Houston Rockets.

For the first time since his trade to the Rockets, two-time All-Star guard Victor Oladipo met with reporters from Sunday’s practice. “I’m blessed and fortunate to be here in Houston,” he said. “There’s a purpose and a reason why I’m here. I came here to win, and I came here to win a lot and at an elite level. I’m looking forward to showing everybody that.”

Oladipo, who averaged 20.0 points (36.2% on 3-pointers), 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game with the Indiana Pacers this season, is expected to make his Houston debut on Monday night in Chicago. Head coach Stephen Silas has referred to the 6-foot-4 guard as a two-way player, in reference to his abilities on both offense and defense.

Oladipo has big shoes to fill, since he’ll be taking the spot of James Harden in Houston’s starting lineup. Harden, of course, was traded to Brooklyn in the blockbuster deal that brought Oladipo to the Rockets.

But as Oladipo and Silas see things, they’re not asking him to be a replacement for Harden. They’re simply wanting him to play his own game, starting with Monday’s 7:00 p.m. Central tipoff in Chicago.

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The Rockets also have decisions to make regarding Oladipo in the coming weeks, since his contract expires at the end of this season. If Houston either chooses not to keep him or doesn’t believe he wants to stay long-term, GM Rafael Stone might have to consider redirecting Oladipo to another team for future assets prior to the March 25 trade deadline.

Here’s a roundup of key takeaways from Sunday afternoon’s media availability sessions with Oladipo, Silas, and Stone.

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