Indiana Pacers: What if Victor Oladipo doesn’t sign an extension?

The Indiana Pacers have been on the rise over the last couple of seasons, but will they be forced to blow it all up if Victor Oladipo doesn’t re-sign?

When the Indiana Pacers traded away Paul George during the summer of 2017, many assumed that it was the team signaling the start of a long rebuild. However, instead, the Pacers have been powered by the sudden rise of Victor Oladipo.

Since joining the Pacers, Oladipo has been an all-star. It started with a breakout season in 2017-18 when he averaged 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists on 48 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. Oladipo has since been named to the NBA All-Star team twice and probably would’ve made a third had he been healthy this season.

Nevertheless, the sudden rise of Oladipo has added an uncertain element to his future with the Pacers. As is almost always the case with every star’s impending free agency, there are real questions as to whether or not he’s going to re-sign with the Pacers.

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Oladipo is a free agent after the 2020-21 season and will enter the open market that will be loaded with big-name stars. And there will be an opening for Oladipo to get to a city or franchise that he wants to be on. Again, Oladipo was traded to Indiana. Remember that. For the most part, he was seen as an afterthought at that point in his career.

Even though the Pacers traded their star for a package centered around Oladipo, I’m not even sure they envisioned this type of rise from him. Nevertheless, there are already whispers that Oladipo will be a wanted commodity in 2021. One team that could make him a priority is the Miami Heat, per a Miami Herald report.

With the assumption that there will be other suitors, you can’t help but think that there’s a very real chance that Oladipo doesn’t re-sign with the Pacers.

First of all, let’s slow down here. That’s a loaded statement. There are already reports that the Pacers and Oladipo have begun to have extension talks. Though, they were reportedly brief. At this point, it’s tough to say what Oladipo is thinking and where he may be leaning.

However, I believe we can all agree that there’s at least a chance Oladipo can sign elsewhere. With that assumption, it can carry us to a bigger question, which is what should the Pacers do in the nightmare scenario in which Oladipo elects to leave in free agency?

In that event, what should the Pacers do? At that point, Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner will still have two years remaining on their contracts, and Domantas Sabonis will have three. This is a team built around this core, but without Oladipo in the fold, it would leave this team without an unquestioned leader – assuming they can’t fill his void via trade (should they trade Oladipo before he hits free agency), it leaves them in a bad situation.

Even though the Pacers have been good this season, where they are at the moment (sitting in the fifth seed in the East) isn’t exactly where you want your ceiling to be as a franchise. Without their all-star, that’s exactly what the Pacers would be.

This past season would be their best-case scenario, assuming there isn’t another surprise rise to stardom hidden on the roster.

As a ceiling, the fifth seed isn’t ideal. In this scenario, would the Pacers blow it all up? Would they continue to walk down the status quo and hope they can trade for another star or develop one within?

This scenario would be far from ideal and would be extremely unfortunate. And there would be a ton more questions than answers. However, when you consider that this entire team has been built around Oladipo over the last few years, you can’t help but wonder what would lie ahead should Oladipo sign off?

So much for the Indiana Pacers relies on what Victor Oladipo decides what to do with his impending free agency. In a way, Indiana might find themsleves right back in the place where they were before the Paul George trade – and it’s not a great place to be in.