Although the Miami Heat had a very quiet offseason for the most part, one of the moves they did make was to re-sign veteran guard Victor Oladipo.
Oladipo’s recent years have been hampered by injuries, but there’s no doubt that he’s still a talented player. The Heat are certainly hoping that his abilities will be on full display this season.
The 30-year-old must really enjoy being with the Heat organization because according to a recent report, he walked away from a chance to start on the Washington Wizards to return to Miami.
“Zach Lowe already detailed how it will be tricky for Miami to find a matching salary for [Jae] Crowder until Caleb Martin, Victor Oladipo and Dewayne Dedmon become trade-eligible in a few months,” wrote Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports. “Plus the Heat have high hopes for Martin, and Oladipo spurned a potential starting opportunity in Washington to return to Miami in free agency for an impact position. Most teams, not just the Heat, will look to evaluate their current groups through a 20-game sample or so before jumping to make any sweeping changes.”
It’s awesome to learn that Oladipo picked Miami over a situation like the one he could have had with the Wizards. The Heat and their fans would love nothing more than to see the two-time All-Star have a fantastic 2022-23 season with Miami.
Last season, Oladipo appeared in just eight regular season games, all of which came in March or later. He averaged 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from deep.
In Miami’s regular season finale, Oladipo put on a show, as he dropped 40 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
In the 2022 playoffs, Oladipo’s overall numbers were iffy, but he had some really impressive performances during the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Of course, Miami ended up falling just one win short of a trip to the NBA Finals.
The former first-round pick would undoubtedly love to play at an All-Star level once again. He earned All-Star selections in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
During that two-season stretch, he averaged 21.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per contest while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from 3-point range.
Oladipo has no shortage of motivation going into this season, and if he’s able to stay healthy and play at a high level, Miami’s ceiling for the 2022-23 season will likely get higher.
Time will tell if the veteran can help the team take the next step this season and get back to the NBA Finals.