Victor Oladipo was a guest on Udonis Haslem’s ‘OGs Show’. The two former teammates spoke about Oladipo’s time with the Indiana Pacers. Oladipo quickly shut down the rumors of him rejecting a $160 million contract that the Pacers offered him and noted that they actually offered him a much lower contract. He added that the Pacers traded him after his knee surgery didn’t work.
“I never, ever, got offered $160 million. Maybe one day in the future. [They offered] three years, $80 [million]. Less than what I had but pretty much about the same. My doctors and everybody was telling me I was getting healthier, even though, unfortunately, my surgery wasn’t done correctly.”
“I made that decision, thinking I was getting better. And then, my first three or four games in Indy that year, I averaged 20. That’s why they traded me. Inside scoop, they knew my sh*t was f**ked up too/ That’s pretty much what happened, never got $160 million, I would’ve took it.”
Oladipo felt as though he needed to clear up any confusion this long-standing rumor might have caused. With him choosing to reject a three-year, $80 million contract – which would have paid him somewhere around $27 million a year – when he was already making $20 million a season at the time makes sense.
At that time, Oladipo was a two-time All-Star and one of the promising young prospects in the league. So he would have felt justified in his mind holding out for more money than what the Pacers were offering him, which would have been a marginal increase in his annual salary.
The Pacers perhaps also took his knee injury into consideration when offering him a new contract. But in the end, the Pacers ended up making the right call, as harsh as it may have been on Oladipo, trading him to the Rockets as part of the James Harden-Brooklyn Nets deal.
Oladipo would get traded to the Heat, and sign a $2 million contract with them after his original contract expired. After impressing officials in Miami, he would sign a two-year, $18 million contract that paid him till 2023.
Oladipo Seemingly Moving On From NBA Career
Victor Oladipo seems to have moved on from any NBA return, as he joined ESPN as an NBA analyst. After 11 years as a player in the league, Oladipo chose to work as an analyst while his NBA career is either on pause or has come to an unceremonious end.
Oladipo had a decent NBA career. He first got drafted by Orlando Magic, where he established himself as a bright young prospect. But he would eventually be traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder so that the Magic could secure the draft rights for Domantas Sabonis at the time.
It was with the Thunder that Oladipo became a better player, even though he only played for a season. The Thunder traded him to the Pacers, and Oladipo would begin his All-Star journey with the franchise. Oladipo was named an All-Star in 2018 and was the NBA’s Most Improved Player that season, averaging 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.
Oladipo would suffer a knee injury in 2018 that would alter the rest of his career, as he would have issues with that knee on several different occasions. Perhaps Oladipo is still hoping for a return to the league and is just biding his time while working for ESPN.
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