The Miami Heat just finished a final regular-season push, fighting to the last game for the best seeding possible. Jimmy Butler played healthy-ish, while bench pieces like Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic played some of their best basketball of the season.
And recently acquired piece Victor Oladipo is getting healthier… oh wait, he is out for the rest of the season following surgery on his quadriceps tendon.
As quickly as it started, it seems the “Oladipo era” in Miami is over. A brief four games are the only taste Heat fans received.
So what’s next? Is this already over?
Was it worth it? It’s worth a chat.
The situation in front of both Miami and Victor Oladipo
The 29-year-old is in the final year of a 4-year, $84 million deal. Next season, Oladipo is an unrestricted free agent.
Before we look at what’s next, let’s look at what the Heat say of him this year.
After acquiring the shooting guard from the Indiana Pacers, Oladipo played in four games. He averaged 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.5 dimes, plus 1.8 steals.
He also shot horribly from the field (37 percent) and the three (23 percent). Not great, to say the least.
The Miami Heat landed Victor Oladipo at the deadline, but they didn’t have him much.
It wasn’t even that he looked bad; he just didn’t look healthy. It’s par for the course this season, as the Indiana product struggled through nine games with the Indiana Pacers and 20 games with the Houston Rockets.
He failed even to scratch the gear he found in the 2017-18 season. When he went down with the Heat, it was more akin to an inevitable event taking place rather than an unforeseen conclusion.
So, what now? Does Oladipo hit free agency?
Does he take his talents elsewhere? The resume does not look promising if he is hoping for another big payday.
He has failed to play over 40 games since 2018. Since then, his shooting percentage in nearly each percentage-charted category has dropped, also impacting his ability to create plays.
Instead of being the life of the offense, he’s struggled to find his sea legs. None of this is an indictment.
He is, after all, trying to come back from a bevy of nagging leg injuries. It is, however, reality and a reality that teams will look at before ponying up cash.
The Miami Heat could still keep Oladipo beyond this year, but at what cost?
But there is another door to walk through this off-season. A return to the Heat at a “hometown” discount could help both sides.
In Miami, Oladipo doesn’t need to be the guy or even the second-best player. In Miami, he can fully recover from injury and return to his All-Star form.
After a year on the cheap, Oladipo can re-boot his career for the next big chunk of cash. Will he stay?
It may all depend on how far the Heat gets in this season’s playoffs.
Was the trade for Oladipo actually worth it for Miami?
The Heat gave up Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a 2022 pick-swap for the Rockets’ shooting guard. Plenty of words have been spilled on the loss of Olynyk.
And now that Oladipo is laid up with surgery, the trade could be called into question. But let’s put this in perspective.
Bradley is not Jrue Holiday. His defense is on the decline and has been for several years.
His off-ball defense was never good, even for the Boston Celtics. As for the offense, sorry I don’t miss the 5.2 points per game he is giving the Rockets.
The Olynyk departure hurts quite a bit more. He is averaging 19 points, eight boards, and four assists nightly in Houston and shooting nearly 40 percent from deep.
Moreover, the Gonzaga product is an incredibly flexible piece. He can roll with a bigger lineup or run with a smaller one.
And did I mention his clutch shooting (insert game seven reference against the Washington Wizards)? The pick is whatever and Bradley is barely a role player, but Olynyk, he will be missed.
However, the impacts of the trade are not tallied in full. If Oladipo returns next year for a reasonable deal, the trade could still pan out.
And because of the team’s depth, it isn’t detrimental in the short term. The move is still defensible, for now.
Is the experiment over? Only time will tell.