Victor Oladipo speaks about his fit with the Heat ahead of his debut. And Dragic ruled out
Victor Oladipo has been busy working to prepare for his much-anticipated Miami Heat debut.
“I’ve just been diving into a lot of film,” Oladipo said late Thursday morning during his first interview with the South Florida media since he was traded to the Heat last week. “The coaching staff has sent me a lot of film. I’ve been on Zoom calls with them going over scout and things of that nature. So just trying to get an edge even though due to the circumstances I’m not able to practice yet or we don’t have too much practice time.”
Oladipo, a two-time All-Star guard, is expected to make his Heat debut Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors at AmericanAirlines Arena. He was acquired by Miami on March 25 in a trade with the Houston Rockets, but did not join the team on its recently completed three-game trip because of a head cold.
Oladipo, 28, has long been linked to the Heat as a trade or future free agent target, and he spends a lot of his offseason time in Miami. As a talented two-way perimeter threat, he adds another playmaker to the Heat’s offense and also can strengthen the Heat’s defense while taking some of the pressure off Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.
“Obviously, I spend my offseasons here. The connection with [Dwyane Wade] and everything like that,” Oladipo said when asked about his Heat ties. “I think in some people’s eyes, it would be a good fit. For me personally, I thought I definitely could fit into the Heat Culture and what they stood for, how they play, how they get after it and things of that nature. So when told I was being traded there, first and foremost it’s not like I’m going to a foreign land where I don’t know anybody or a foreign experience. It’s something that I’m comfortable with.”
The Heat will mark the third different team that Oladipo has played for this season. He opened the season with the Indiana Pacers, was traded to Houston in January as part of the deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, and then was moved to Miami.
Oladipo entered Thursday averaging 20.8 points while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on threes, five rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 29 games this season.
Since Oladipo returned in January 2020 from a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee that kept him out for a year, he has averaged 18.3 points while shooting 40.1 percent from the field, 32.8 percent on threes and 78.2 percent from the free-throw line, to go with 4.6 rebounds, four assists and 1.2 steals in 48 regular-season games.
“The best is yet to come for me,” he said. “I truly believe that my better days are ahead. I truly believe I haven’t scratched the surface of how good I can be. There’s still a lot of room for me to improve, a lot of room for me to get better. I have a lot to prove. I have a chip on my shoulder, obviously.”
Oladipo’s best NBA season came with the Pacers in 2017-18 before the knee injury, when he averaged a career-high 23.1 points while shooting 47.7 percent from the field, 37.1 percent on threes and 79.9 percent from the foul line, to go with 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals. He was voted to the All-Star Game, NBA All-Defensive first team and All-NBA third team, and earned the NBA’s Most Improved Player award that season.
The Pacers and Rockets took a cautious approach with Oladipo this season as he continues to work his way back from the serious injury he sustained in January 2019. He has yet to play in both games of a back-to-back set this season.
When asked if he will be able to play in back-to-backs with Miami, Oladipo said “hopefully” but “I don’t know what the future brings.” Following Thursday’s matchup with the Warriors, the Heat has five remaining back-to-back sets on its regular-season schedule.
The Heat could now be facing an adjustment period to incorporate Oladipo, especially on offense. Oladipo is averaging 18.4 shot attempts per game this season and has posted a usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while on the court) of 28.9 percent this season and 29.5 percent in 2017-18 before his injury.
Miami’s offense, which works off ball and off-ball movement, currently does not feature a player averaging more than 15 shot attempts per game this season. Butler has a usage rate of 26.5 percent and Adebayo has a usage rate of 23.6 percent.
“It’s an adjustment,” Oladipo said of fitting into the Heat’s offense. “But it’s nothing that I can’t handle. I’m just going to go out there and play as hard as I can on both ends of the floor and leave it all out there. I’ll learn as I go along. I’m a fast learner.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he reached out to Wade about Oladipo following his recent acquisition. Wade has had a longtime relationship with Oladipo, as both played at the college level under coach Tom Crean.
“Me and Dwyane’s relationship obviously goes back to before I was in college,” Oladipo said. “Dwyane has always been a great mentor, a great big brother to me. That was during the years they won back-to-back Finals and we were working out at [Indiana University] and stuff like that. I got a chance to kind of get a feel of what Heat Culture was up close, and work out with those guys and see if from my own personal standpoint. There’s nothing like it. It helped Dwyane become who he is. It helped him become the elite player that he is, being in this Culture. I hope it does the same for me.”
As for Oladipo’s first conversation with Heat president Pat Riley after last week’s trade, Oladipo said it was about “defense, defense, defense.”
“It’s pretty amazing to have such a legendary leader,” Oladipo added. “He wants me to come in here and he wants me to defend. That’s what I’m going to go out there and do, is help this team defensively, help this team in any way I can.”
Oladipo, who is earning $21 million this season on an expiring contract, will be an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.
The Heat acquired Oladipo’s Bird Rights in the trade, allowing Miami to surpass the salary cap if it’s interested in re-signing him this offseason. That decision that will likely be dictated by Oladipo’s production through of the end of this season.
“I’m looking forward to getting started,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing with these guys. I’m looking forward to getting coached. I’m looking forward to playing at the highest level, and I think it’s going to be a great fit. I truly feel like it’s going to be a great fit. Hopefully, it’s for years to come.”
INJURY REPORT
Heat guard Goran Dragic (lower back; injury recovery) has been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Warriors. Dragic missed four straight games because of lower back spasms and returned to play in the past two games, but he’ll be held out on the second-night of a back-to-back against Golden State.
Heat forward KZ Okpala will miss his sixth consecutive game because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
But the Heat will get guard Kendrick Nunn and forward Udonis Haslem back on Thursday. Nunn returns after missing the past two games with a sprained right ankle and Haslem returns after protocols kept him away from the team for the past seven games.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 1:05 PM.
