Report: Victor Oladipo Not Expected to Return to Heat


He played a major role for Miami in the playoffs.

Victor Oladipo, a two-time All-Star and former All-NBA selection, has appeared in just 27 total games for the Heat since being acquired from the Rockets ahead of the 2021 NBA trade deadline. He was a major contributor during Miami’s 2022 playoff run, but likely won’t return to that rotation next season, according to Bleacher Report‘s Jake Fischer.

Miami is set to extend Tyler Herro with a deal hovering around $25 million per year, Fischer reports. As a result, Oladipo will likely walk and is a candidate for the mid-level exception elsewhere. Fischer says the Wizards, Nuggets and Pistons could have interest in Oladipo.

The 30-year-old wing was the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NBA draft, selected by the Magic. He spent three years with the franchise before heading to the Thunder in a trade for Serge Ibaka. Just over a year later, he was traded to the Pacers and flourished back in Indiana, where he played his college ball.

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In 2018, his first season with the Pacers, he made his first of two-straight All-Star Games and was an All-NBA third-team selection. He was also a member of the league’s All-Defensive first team and won the NBA Most Improved Player award.

After dealing with knee and quad injuries through the backend of the 2018–19 and the ’19–20 seasons, Oladipo was sent to the Rockets in the trade that moved James Harden to the Nets in January 2021. 

He’s played in a total of 88 regular-season games for the Pacers, Rockets and Heat since the end of the 2017–18 season, topping out 36 for the Pacers in 2018–19.

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