Indiana Pacers shooting guard Victor Oladipo dropped a bombshell on Friday when he told Shams Charania of The Athletic he won't play in the “bubble” games down in Orlando, Florida.
However, considering how serious his quad injury was last season, it's not that big of a surprise to some people in the league that Oladipo is opting out of the Orlando games. After all, the All-Star has a lot on the line moving forward, as he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021 unless the Pacers sign him to an extension before then.
According to Ian Begley of SNY, the Pacers and Oladipo held brief contract extension talks before the 2019-20 campaign began, with Indiana offering the former Most Improved Player of the Year a four-year, $80 million deal.
Discussions did not go any further from there, as Oladipo wasn't flattered by the offer. As a result, it’s hard to tell where things stand between the Pacers and Dipo. Indiana is already paying Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner and Malcolm Brogdon significant money, so the franchise may not be comfortable giving Oladipo the salary he wants, especially since no one knows if he's going to be the star player he was prior to his quad injury.
Oladipo made his season debut in January and played in 13 games before the 2019-20 campaign was suspended. In the games he played in, the 28-year-old guard put up 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 39.1 percent from the floor.
It appears the former Indiana Hoosiers standout is preparing for a huge 2020-21 campaign. However, Oladipo will likely have to put up superstar numbers to convince both the Pacers and other NBA teams that he's worth a max contract.
The New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and plenty of other teams are in a position to be aggressive if a player of Oladipo's caliber becomes available via trade. The Pacers could have a Paul George 2.0 situation on their hands if Oladipo tells the franchise he won't re-sign with the club in 2021.
There haven't been any reports stating that Oladipo is upset in Indiana. Nonetheless, NBA pundits are already starting to wonder if the clock is ticking on the guard's time with the Pacers:
over/under 60 games Victor Oladipo plays with the Pacers for the rest of his career
— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) July 3, 2020
Victor Oladipo was set to make $21 million in 2019-20 and the same amount in 2020-21.
He has career averages of 17.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 415 regular-season games with the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Pacers.
Follow Us
Subscribe