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Heat Beat Writer on Victor Oladipo: 'Increasingly Unlikely' SG Gets Max Contract
April 11, 2021
Things haven't gone well for Victor Oladipo since joining the Miami Heat in a deadline trade and it could lead to diminished value as a free agent this offseason.
"It is increasingly unlikely that Victor will get anything near a maximum deal this summer, in terms or annual dollars or even years, from the Heat or elsewhere," Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel said (h/t Jonathan Sherman of Heat Nation). "Thursday’s injury rekindled plenty of questions that never were far removed from the conversation."
Oladipo recently suffered a knee injury and he didn't travel with the team for its current road trip while the injury is evaluated. In four games with Miami, the guard is averaging 12.0 points per game while shooting 37.2 percent from the field.
It's a continuation of an up-and-down season for Oladipo, who was traded twice after beginning the year with the Indiana Pacers. He landed with the Houston Rockets as part of the deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets in January but was shipped out about two months later.
Across three teams in 2020-21, the 28-year-old is averaging 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
Oladipo is a two-time All-Star and at his best influenced the game on both ends of the court as a go-to scorer and tough perimeter defender. A quad injury has since derailed his career and created question marks over the past two seasons before free agency.
Miami's trade for Oladipo gave the team his Bird rights, providing the opportunity to offer an extra year to re-sign him in the offseason. The expiring contract also gives the organization flexibility to land another top free agent instead, which Winderman said "was always Part B of the Victor Oladipo equation."