Victor Oladipo’s roller-coaster career continues to transition from ups to downs and back again at a breakneck pace. Right now, the Miami Heat guard is riding high after scoring a team-best 23 points to lead his club to a series-clinching win over the Hawks on Tuesday.
However, just a handful of days earlier, national pundits like Skip Bayless were talking about a supposed beef between Oladipo and the Heat’s current cornerstone, Jimmy Butler.
Moreover, Oladipo’s on-court role and playing time have been incredibly inconsistent since the two-time All-Star returned from his latest quadriceps surgery in March. During Miami’s first-round series against Atlanta, for example, he logged three DNP-CDs before his Game 5 eruption.
As such, there are real questions to be asked about the soon-to-be 30-year-old’s future. To that end, one NBA exec sees Oladipo moving into new digs next season.
Top Decision-Maker on What’s Next for Oladipo
While it’s clear that Oladipo has a lot to offer the Heat this postseason, a league general manager told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney that the baller still has something to prove next season.
“That is the first time he looked completely like himself,” the GM said. “I mean, he is still looking at a minimum, make-good contract next year. But the more he shows that, the more he moves to a position where he can pick his spot, decide where he is going to get playing time — a team like Sacramento or the Knicks or the Blazers.”
The one place that Oladipo likely won’t be hanging his hat, according to the GM, is in South Beach with Butler, Bam Adebayo and Co.
“It’s not going to be Miami, that has been pretty clear,” the GM opined. “But a game like [Game 5] is going to stick, it’s going to carry into the summer.”
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Oladipo Considered Retirement
While Oladipo likely won’t be commanding a high-dollar salary this summer, the fact that he’s putting up points in meaningful games and, potentially, giving himself some options is a far cry from where he was around the time of his latest surgery.
During an appearance on the April 28 episode of The Woj Pod, Oladipo told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that he was considering retirement at the time:
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say those thoughts crossed my mind… Like I said last night, I’ve been fighting even before I was born… To quit on that, I would look back, and I would hate myself for it. It was a no-brainer for me to keep going. It might have crossed my mind once what we just talked about, but I brought myself back down to earth and realized like, ‘Bro, nah you can’t quit.’ That’s now how I want things to end.”
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NBA GM Sounds off on Heat Star’s Future: ‘Not Going to Be Miami’