Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo looked good in the team's first scrimmage game in Orlando as he continues to work his way back from a ruptured quad tendon suffered in Jan. 2019, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll suit up when Indiana officially resumes its season on Aug. 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Oladipo was quick to remind folks that only he truly understands his body.
“It might look good to you…I hold myself to a different standard…I'm trying to get back to that feeling, to make sure my knee, myself, is 100%,” Victor Oladipo said after the Pacers' first scrimmage game.
The ongoing uncertainty around Oladipo's situation has ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson wondering if there's a behind-the-scenes rift between the All-Star and the Pacers organization—leading Jefferson to recall another schism between a star and his franchise.
“This reminds me of Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs,” Richard Jefferson said on ESPN's The Jump on Friday. “There's something more going on here.”
Leonard sat out nearly all of the 2017-18 season as he recovered from a quadriceps injury, and his reported disagreements with the team's medical approach led to his trade to the Toronto Raptors.
Oladipo returned from his serious knee injury on Jan. 29 for 13 games in 2020. After initially struggling, he found a groove before the hiatus, including 27 points and seven assists in the Pacers' final game before the break.
But the unexpected four-month layoff due to COVID-19 has complicated his recovery process and Jefferson is wondering if something is off.
“You don't have a player play before the quarantine and come back and play in the bubble, then be unsure about his status for the rest of the season,” Jefferson argued. “There is nowhere on this planet where those things don't add up to something that says that there is disagreement with him and his team. He could have said he was going to stay home…but he's shown up…but hasn't decided if he's going to play. So there's more there.”
Jefferson's colleague, Amin Elhassan, cited an unresolved dispute over whether Oladipo would earn $3 million in salary if he opted out of the restart. Healthy players will not be paid for skipping the bubble, while injured players will receive compensation.
Oladipo is still recovering from an injury but is clearly healthy enough for basketball activities. He could be putting himself at risk of re-injury by participating, but it would net him the rest of his money.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, Oladipo is not their only All-Star dealing with injury concerns.
On Friday, Domantas Sabonis left the bubble to receive treatment for plantar fasciitis.
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