NBA Free Agency: Victor Oladipo is one big mystery heading into the offseason
Victor Oladipo has an unknown future heading into free agency.
It’s been clear for a while now that having the opportunity to test free agency was something that Victor Oladipo values. Although, less than a few months before he’ll finally be able to do so, he’s much more of an unknown than perhaps he expected to be.
At some point over the last year and a half, Oladipo declined a contract extension from the Indiana Pacers reportedly worth $25 million per season. He also declined a lucrative one from the Houston Rockets, after he was acquired by them as part of the James Harden deal.
Heading into free agency this offseason, it’s anyone’s guess what Oladipo will demand on the open market. In addition, because of injury concerns, any team that chooses to sign Oladipo will be taking a big risk.
Victor Oladipo’s fall from prominence
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
- NBA Power Rankings: Tiering all 30 projected starting point guards for 2023-24
Since the 2018-19 season, Oladipo has not looked like the same player. After suffering a significant quad injury, he’s had trouble getting back to the all-star level that he reached with the Pacers. Considering that his season ended, again, due to another quad injury that he elected to get surgery on, hit future is far from certain.
Oladipo only managed to play in four games with the Heat, after he was acquired by the team at the NBA Trade Deadline, and they’ll, too, have a big decision to make regarding his free agency. In addition to several other teams that are likely to be interested in signing him during the summer.
The counting stats, on the surface, are still quite good for Oladipo. For the season, he’s going to finish the year by averaging 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. He did struggle with his efficiency, however, and is no longer the elite defender that he once was on the defensive end.
The big concern regarding Oladipo has been his availability. Over the past three seasons combined, he’s only appeared in 88 games.
Simply put, because of that, it would be extremely surprising for any team with significant cap space to try and sign Oladipo to a big-money contract this offseason. And if that is going to be the case, it will leave plenty of questions and possibilities surrounding Oladipo’s upcoming free agency.
Where does, if at all, Miami stand in their interest of Oladipo? You’d have to imagine that the team is going to be interested, to a certain extent, and they will have the most updated information on his injury status too – which could be one of the biggest reasons why the team elected to acquire him at the trade deadline and simply not wait a few months to sign him outright in free agency.
Next. NBA Playoffs: 5 difference-makers who could heat up in the postseason. dark
Either way, there might not be a free agent whose future is more unclear and murky than Victor Oladipo. Considering where his game was just a couple of years ago, that’s quite unfortunate.