Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo is weighing the pros and cons
Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo has a tough decision to make. Does he come back in late July when the NBA season resumes for the Indiana Pacers and the other 21 teams heading to Orlando?
Or, does the star point guard sit out the remainder of the season and come back next year?
Victor Oladipo isn’t sure if he’ll play in Orlando
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Victor Oladipo is still mulling over the decision in conjunction with the team. Chief among Oladipo’s concerns, of course, is his quad injury that kept him out from January 2019 until January 2020.
When he returned, Oladipo played a slow and lumbering 13 games, speeding up each step of the way and getting back into the cadence of the rigors of the NBA season. Unfortunately for Oladipo, the season was suspended after those 13 games and he found himself once again unable to play and continue building momentum.
Oladipo’s readiness may be more level with the rest of the league at this point in terms of having rust to break off, but ultimately there is a risk for Oladipo. Ramping up too quickly could increase the odds that his quad injury aggravates or that Oladipo sustains a new injury — the latter of those two concerns being something every player needs to be concerned with.
According to Wojnarowski, Oladipo will ramp up his training with the team next week to establish a better gauge on the risk level of him playing in Orlando. By Wednesday, Oladipo needs to decide if he will remain on the active roster. He can still hold out on an official decision after that, but the team will not be able to use a roster spot on a replacement player if his decision passes Wednesday.
It’s in the team’s best interest that Oladipo decides by Wednesday, a timeline that may be rushing it.
Notably, Oladipo also has a contract year next season. Again, health is the primary concern, but the financial aspect has to be a factor in the decision. If Oladipo has a solid postseason performance, the Pacers will be motivated to offer him a lucrative extension this summer. They offered him a lowball extension prior to this season, signaling their intentions to keep him in Indiana.
However, if he sits out this year and comes ready for next season, Oladipo could have a contract year big enough to sell his services to multiple teams in the open market and start a bidding war to drive his price up.
Ultimately, though, if he has only played 20 games or so from January 2019 to January 2021, it may take him a long time to be ready next season.