Oladipo optimistic about playing next season
Heat guard Victor Oladipo very likely will miss the start of next season after knee surgery on Thursday, but he remains optimistic that he can play at some point next season, according to a league source close to the situation.
Oladipo underwent surgery to repair the quadriceps tendon, a part of his right knee that initially was seriously injured in a game in January 2019, when he played for the Indiana Pacers. Oladipo missed a calendar year — and six days — before playing in another NBA game after that.
That 2019 surgery appears to have never fully repaired the injury and Oladipo never completely healed, as it turned out.
Oladipo hasn’t played since aggravating the injury on a dunk on April 8 against the Lakers. The Heat identified his ailment as “knee soreness” on injury reports.
While the April 8 incident did not create a new tear, Oladipo had been playing with a partially torn quad tendon that was fully repaired during Thursday’s procedure in New York.
There was no full tear, and as a result, Oladipo’s surgery Thursday wasn’t quite as serious — in terms of anticipated recovery interested in is winning and trying to get that championship.”
Butler was recently asked about his approach entering games after he attempted just one shot in the first half of the Heat’s May 9 win over the Boston Celtics before going off for 22 points on 13 shots in the second half. His answer provided a glimpse into what makes Butler such a unique star.
“First off, I’m not just an offensive player, so I couldn’t care less how many points that I score,” Butler said. “My job is to help win games. That’s on both ends of the floor. When my guys are open, I will always throw it to them, especially when they’re cutting and you got guys open at the three. It just makes my job easier later on. But a win is a win, man. I couldn’t care less if I shoot the ball zero times next game, I’m just out here to win.”
Butler’s bruising game predicated on getting to his spots in the paint and midrange while also generating free-throw attempts doesn’t produce many jaw-dropping highlights. But the results it produces are elite.
“He’s one of those guys that I’ve noticed over the course of time that unless time — as the January 2019 operation.
While a return to game action potentially in December, January or February remains a strong possibility, much will depend on how quickly the injury heals following Thursday’s surgery and how soon he can regain strength in the knee.
He’s essentially in a holding pattern for the next 8 to 10 weeks, as the tendon heals.
No surprises — as far as additional damage to the knee — were discovered during the surgery, which was deemed a success. Oladipo expects to return from this with the knee in a he’s on your team or unless he’s on a team that you have to watch every single night, it’s going to be hard for you to really appreciate just kind of seeing it every now and then,” Butler’s agent Bernie Lee said. “So if you’re on a team that plays him two times a year, you think to yourself: ‘Well, man, this is a guy that played two pretty good games. He’s a pretty high IQ guy. Maybe these were the two games that happened against my team.’
“Because he’s not the guy that his highlights are going to be on ‘SportsCenter,’ he’s not shooting threes from half court, he’s not doing eight and 12 dribble combinations. He’s not dunking over the entire opposition. He doesn’t do stuff like that. But he’s a guy where if he’s on your team for 82 games a year, you realize night in and night out that he does the exact same thing that those people are experiencing the one or two times they see him every year. He does it every night that he plays.”
BAM FOR DPOY?
Heat center Bam Adebayo is also part of the NBA awards conversation. He’s in the Defensive Player of the Year disfar better position than it was after the first surgery. Oladipo, who turned 29 on May 4, will become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 1 and would love to return to the Heat, according to the source. He’s earning $22 million on an expiring contract.
Oladipo must decide whether he finds a financial offer to his liking this summer, one that would motivate him to play at some point next season if he’s healthy enough, as opposed to waiting until 2022-23.
The Heat will need to decide not only whether to cussion, and will receive All-NBA and All-Defense consideration.
Adebayo has campaigned for himself in the Defensive Player of the Year race during recent interviews and the Heat recently began a social media campaign for Adebayo with the hashtag, #BAMDPOY.
Spoelstra was asked following Thursday’s win over the Philadelphia
76ers if Adebayo should be named this season’s Defensive Player of the Year, and this was part of his response: “Why don’t you guys say that? I know what Bam’s value is. This is probably where I’m most awkward in this position. Am I supposed to promote and market? I just think Bam is one of the ultimate winners in this league. We haven’t won the ultimate trophy with him. But he has all of the qualities and makeup of a champion. ... He’s doing it on both ends. I’ll let you guys make that case. I don’t know how that all gets worked out. I know it’s a voting process. But he impacts the game on both sides of the floor in a great way.”
Anthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang re-sign Oladipo — without knowing specifically when he will be able to play — but also whether to A) operate as an over-the-cap team, which would allow Miami to surpass the salary cap to sign Oladipo, Goran Dragic (if his $19 million team option is declined) and Trevor Ariza or
B) operate as a room team, which would give the Heat between $22 million and $28 million to use on outside free agents, such as Kyle Lowry, but make it more difficult to re-sign Oladipo, Dragic and Ariza.
A two-time All-Star, Oladipo played in just four games with the Heat before the injury.
He averaged 12 points while shooting 37.2 percent from the field and 23.5 percent on threes, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals in his limited time with the Heat this season.
According to a source, Oladipo attempted to return this season but was not able to do so because the knee did not feel right. The Heat agreed with his decision to have this week’s surgery.
The Heat acquired Oladipo in a trade with the Houston Rockets at the NBA trade deadline on March 25.
Miami traded guard Avery Bradley and center Kelly Olynyk to acquire Oladipo, and also agreed to a 2022 first-round pick swap with Houston.