Less than 24 hours before the trade deadline, veteran guard Victor Oladipo did not play in Wednesday’s home game for the Houston Rockets due to what the team referred to as personal reasons.
“Victor’s not available,” head coach Stephen Silas said in pregame comments leading up to tipoff versus Charlotte. “He has a personal thing going on, and unfortunately, he won’t be playing tonight.”
The timing of the move was curious, since Oladipo’s name has swirled in various rumors ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. The two-time All-Star is widely expected to be traded, since he’s in the final year of his contract and the Rockets would rather not risk losing him for no compensation in offseason free agency — particularly given their low placement (12-30) in this season’s standings to date.
However, sources close to the team indicate that the “personal reasons” are unrelated to basketball or the trade deadline.
Oladipo has posted about a death of a close friend in his IG stories over the last few days, before everyone assumes things. https://t.co/e8dWbuflXP
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) March 24, 2021
In 20 games with the Rockets, Oladipo is averaging 21.2 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.8 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is also one of Houston’s top defenders. With Oladipo out, Sterling Brown is likely to start in his place alongside John Wall.
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Victor Oladipo isn’t playing tonight due to personal reasons. This isn’t related to the trade market, although it is likely the Rockets will move him before tomorrow’s deadline.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 24, 2021
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