It has been an eventful first day or so of free agency for the Miami Heat. They have seen Gabe Vincent and potentially Max Strus head for the exit door but have managed to re-sign Kevin Love and landed Josh Richardson too.
They then concluded their business for the day by trading away the injured Victor Oladipo to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Oklahoma City is acquiring Victor Oladipo and draft compensation to absorb his $9.45 million expiring contract, sources tell ESPN. Miami creates a trade exception of $9.45M with the deal.”
Oklahoma City is acquiring Victor Oladipo and draft compensation to absorb his $9.45 million expiring contract, sources tell ESPN. Miami creates a trade exception of $9.45M with the deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
The injury nightmare just doesn’t end for Oladipo after he suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in the playoffs. He is now set for an extended period on the sidelines and the Heat are saving over $25 million in taxes with this trade. The Heat can also now use this trade exception for any potential moves, like one perhaps for Damian Lillard.
It is unclear whether Oladipo will recover in time to suit up for the Thunder in the 2023-24 season. This will be his second stint with the team, having played for them in the 2016-17 campaign, where he averaged 15.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, and 0.3 BPG.
Victor Oladipo’s Injury Nightmare
The first five seasons of Oladipo’s career didn’t really give the impression that he was in line for such tough times moving forward. The first major injury came in the form of a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee in 2019 and it would take him over a year to play in the NBA again.
The next major injury came not long after he was traded to the Heat in 2021 when he needed season-ending surgery to repair his right quadriceps tendon. It took him almost a year to get back but he did play fairly well on his return and the Heat signed him to a two-year deal in 2022.
After this latest injury though, you do wonder about his future in the league. Oladipo will certainly try his hardest to get back and we sincerely hope he makes a strong recovery.
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