Victor Oladipo's Agent Says Pacers Star Didn't Ask to Join Knicks, Raptors, Heat

Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo's agent, Aaron Turner, shot down a report Friday that Oladipo asked members of the Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat and New York Knicks if he could play for them last season.

Turner insisted that no such conversations took place during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio:

Turner was responding to a report from J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star (h/t Jordan Heck of Sporting News):

Michael reported that Oladipo asked members of the Raptors, Heat and Knicks, "Can I come play with y'all?" He added that Oladipo did it in front of his teammates, which caused them to become agitated with Oladipo in the locker room.

Oladipo is about to enter the final year of his contract in 2020-21, meaning he could be a trade candidate before or during the season. If not, the 28-year-old may be playing for a new team in 2021-22 anyway.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft is just a few seasons removed from a career year that put him on the map as one of the league's fastest-rising stars.

In 2017-18, Oladipo was named an All-Star for the first time and averaged career highs across the board with 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a league-leading 2.4 steals per game. Oladipo was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and won the Most Improved Player award as well.

He was on a good pace the following season and was named an All-Star again with averages of 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals, but a quad injury cut his season short after just 36 games.

Oladipo also got off to a late start last season and only ended up appearing in 19 games. Even when he did play, it was clear that Oladipo wasn't the same player he was in the previous two seasons, as he averaged 14.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists, while shooting a career-worst 39.4 percent from the field.

Victor Oladipo Heats Up for 25 Points

There are major question marks surrounding Oladipo and his ability to return to All-Star form ahead of the 2020-21 season, and it remains to be seen if those efforts will be made in Indiana or elsewhere.

Any of the teams Michael mentioned in his report could benefit greatly from Oladipo next season provided his play bounces back to some degree.

He would lend some support to the star duo of Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry in Toronto and do the same in Miami with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

With the Knicks, Oladipo would arguably be the face of the franchise and could have his best opportunity to put up big numbers and land a huge free-agent contract with New York or another team.

Meanwhile, the Pacers have reached the playoffs in each of the past five seasons, but they haven't gotten out of the first round in any of those appearances.

Indiana has a talented team with Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren and Myles Turner leading the way, and if the Pacers keep Oladipo next season and get more out of him, they could be a sleeper threat to finally do some damage in the Eastern Conference.