Victor Oladipo got the night off for the Miami Heat on Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was the second night of a back-to-back set and the Heat weren't ready to get the 29-year-old out there for two straight evenings now that he's just come back from a lengthy 11-month injury layoff.  

Oladipo has been making steady progress in the three games he's played for the Heat this season. It is clear that there's still a lot of rust there, but if all goes according to plan, the 6-foot-4 combo guard could emerge as a key contributor for Miami down the stretch. This is indeed a welcome development for the Heat and even more so for Oladipo, who apparently, almost saw his career come off the rails during his injury spell:

“It did affect me, going through all of those things,” Oladipotold Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “Feeling like people kind of wrote me off, and feeling like people are kind of being weird, moving weird around me as a person. It was just weird, and I didn’t help myself either. I had to change the people I was around, who I was letting represent me. I had to change who I was letting manage my life. I had to change a whole bunch of stuff.”

As it turns out, it wasn't just the injuries that Oladipo had to go through in the past couple of years. Apparently, he's also be dealing with some major issues with, as he said, the people that were around him.

Oladipo did not name any names but it is worth noting that eight months ago, he decided to fire his sports agent, Aaron Turner of Venus Management Team. The full truth behind this major career decision remains unclear, but more often than not, a player doesn't make changes in their representation unless there's an issue at hand. Oladipo's comments here all but confirm the same.

Oladipo's rant did not end there. The former two-time All-Star went on to say that these “people” did not meet his expectations and that they “fumbled it”:

“You pretty much trust your whole being and your career in certain people’s hands, and they kind of, unfortunately, fumbled it,” Oladipo said. “It’s a learning lesson. I trust my instinct more now than ever.”

Oladipo did not directly say it, but if you read between the lines, he seems to be implying that he trusted the wrong people. It's a good thing that he was able to cut bait when he did. Otherwise, this could have caused permanent and catastrophic damage to his career.

Right now, Oladipo is being represented by Jeff Schwartz and Javon Phillips at Excel Sports Management, which happens to be one of the biggest sports agencies in the industry. He appears to be in good hands now, and it also sounds like Oladipo himself is happy with the decision he made.

This becomes even more important now that he's set to become a free agent this summer. Oladipo is currently on an expiring deal with the Heat and he will be negotiating a new contract this summer. His agency will play a major role in the negotiation table, but what cannot be denied is that the biggest factor here will be his play on the basketball court.

At the moment, however, Oladipo will need to wait a little bit longer before he gets the opportunity to really prove his worth. According to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the team is taking a very cautious approach in bringing back the veteran into the fold:

“This is going to be about us tempering the expectations,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “This is the biggest win of all, the fact that he had had three straight years of frustrating health and injury things that he was dealing with …and he’s out here, able to compete. We all want more, I’m sure he wants more. This is about discipline. We have to all be disciplined about this.”

Be that as it may, Oladipo remains confident in his abilities. He's bet on himself in the past and he's not afraid to do it again this time around:

“I know when I’m right and I’m 100 percent physically what I’m capable of doing, so I don’t have to worry about anything but getting healthy,” Oladipo said. “I still plan on being really, really, really good at this game and I still plan on being one of the greats.”

Oladipo also had a special message for the naysayers that were quick to count him out. He revealed that it is their doubt that has fueled him to come back as good as ever:

“The game, the world, kind of forgot about me,” he said. “It tests your faith. It tests you as a person and it helps you realize how strong you truly are.”

After coming off several major injuries, it's not likely that Oladipo will be able to recapture his All-Star form from many years ago. Then again, we've seen crazier things in the past and it is clear that the one thing this man does not lack is self-belief.