Victor Oladipo has one year remaining on his deal after this season. Whether or not the Indiana Pacers will be able to retain him remains to be seen, and if early talks are any indication, that may end up being a problem for the club.
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 shooting guard a four-year, $80 million deal.
Not surprisingly, discussions did not go any further from there. Oladipo's current contract is four years, $84 million, so he definitely thinks he's worth more than that after making two All-Star games, even despite his devastating knee injury.
The good news for Indy is that it will be able to exceed the cap to keep Oladipo, but considering that the Pacers are also paying Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner and Malcolm Brogdon significant money, that might be difficult.
In addition, Indiana is in a rather precarious position when it comes to Oladipo.
The two-time All-Star suffered that injury midway through last season, rupturing a quad tendon in his knee. Oladipo underwent surgery to repair the issue and returned to the court this past January, averaging just 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 39.1 percent from the floor in 13 games before the NBA season was suspended.
As a result, it's hard to tell where things stand with Oladipo. No one knows for sure if Indiana University product, who turns 28 years old early next week, will ever be the same again.
When he is right, there is no doubt that Oladipo is one of the best two-way players in basketball, but right now, his athletic future is up in the air.
For that reason, Indiana will likely continue to approach extension talks with caution.
Oladipo is making $21 million this year and is slated to earn another $21 million in 2020-21.
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