Victor Oladipo an option for the Lakers?

I'd never really felt that Oladipo to the Lakers was a realistic possibility or a good fit. Specifically, I felt that the price to acquire him vs. what he would contribute in his role here wouldn't be a precise match. He was always going to be in the "third banana" type of role here for the blatantly obvious reasons.

These guys

However, my thinking on that may have changed a bit of late.

Now, obvious caveat, nobody should ever root for an injury to another player. Not only does it make you a horrible human being, but it is the sort of sin against the game that makes the basketball gods sit up and take notice.

Now that I've gotten that disclaimer out of the way, there are times when injuries open up opportunities and I wonder if the timing and nature of Oladipo's might open up an opportunity for the Lakers.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31489484/miami-heat-victor-oladipo-cleared-full-contact-basketball-november-doctor-says

I want to draw everyone's attention to this part of the article here.

Glashow performed the procedure on May 13, and he expressed surprise that Oladipo had even been able to play NBA basketball with the previous state of his tendon. Glashow did not perform the January 2019 procedure on Oladipo.

"I repaired the quad tendon and did it a little differently than [he had] it done before," Glashow told ESPN. "The quad wasn't really hooked up. It was torn, and I reattached it. I was amazed he was playing with what he had. I'm very optimistic that I could clear him in six months, by November. I think he's going to play really well again.

"[The surgery] went extremely well, and it's healing beautifully. I'm confident he'll play next year."

If you're anything like me, the first thing you thought when you read that was "wait, he was doing what he was doing on the court WITH a torn quad that wasn't repaired right? wtf?"

If you've played any fantasy football, you'll know that injury prone players, and injured players specifically, always come at a discount because of the risk that is baked into the player. You'll also know that recency bias is a real thing. People have a tendency in their minds to give more weight and credence to the most recent information they've received.

The Lakers have been searching for a consistent third option ever since Anthony Davis arrived. Could that be Oladipo?

Who is this masked man?

Fantasy Football comparison again. It always, ALWAYS, depends on the price tag.

If the price is low enough due to other owners being scared off by his most recent injury history, and if Oladipo is looking to play for a contender and rebuild his value in a major market, then there's a lot to like about the pairing. When healthy, he's a potent force offensively putting up about 20 points and 5 assists per game. He hasn't been the most efficient player, but as a third option with the defense focused elsewhere it could be reasonable to expect his efficiency to improve a bit. He isn't great defensively, but not bad either. He's also only just turned 29 years old this month.

Lastly, the Lakers don't have a ton of great ways to improve the roster without taking risks for the next few years. They can hope that certain players (hello there THT!) just improve as they get older. But from a salary flexibility and draft pick standpoint, they're pretty much broke.

Therefore, taking a flier on Oladipo - always assuming the price is right - might be worth a look. I don't know what the market for his services will look like so this might end up being a moot discussion, but he might be a reclamation project worthy of consideration.