Victor Oladipo to continue recovery with Heat G League team, moves closer to potential return
Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo is taking the next step in his recovery process.
Late Tuesday night just minutes after postgame interviews came to an end following its loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat announced that Oladipo had been sent to its G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, for his first five-on-five court work since undergoing surgery to repair the quadriceps tendon in his right knee last May. He’s expected to remain in Sioux Falls through Thursday.
Heat assistant athletic trainer and director of rehabilitation Brandon Gilliam and assistant strength and conditioning coach Hunter Glascock accompanied Oladipo to Sioux Falls.
Oladipo, 29, has yet to play this season as he continues to work his way back from surgery last May.
“It feels good to be able to play the game I love,” Oladipo said in his first public comments since September during an interview with the Skyforce’s in-house website following Wednesday’s practice. “You go through stuff in life, and you have to battle. I’ve gone through this twice, so I know how to prep mentally. But each time is new, and those challenges arise, and you have to adapt.
“It is a whirlwind of emotions. As a competitor, you want to play a certain way but it’s about winning the small battles and I won that today. I am just thankful to keep building.”
Oladipo is not expected to play in any games with the Skyforce. But joining Sioux Falls gives Oladipo an opportunity to go through extended practice workouts for the next few days while the Heat prepares to take time off during the upcoming All-Star break.
With Thursday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center (7 p.m., Bally Sports Sun) marking the Heat’s final game before the All-Star break, Miami’s next practice won’t come until next week, likely on Feb. 24, before resuming its schedule on Feb. 25 against the New York Knicks.
“It’s so helpful,” Oladipo said of working with the Skyforce. “With the Heat and how the regular season goes, we don’t get that much opportunity to practice. To have this resource with the Skyforce and to be able to come down and work hard is very beneficial to me and I don’t take it for granted.”
The Heat stressed not to make too much of Oladipo’s G League assignment, noting that it’s just a part of his recovery process.
While this week’s G League assignment could set up for Oladipo to make his season debut shortly after the Heat returns from the All-Star break, the team has shied away from offering a definitive timetable for his return. Before the start of the season, the hope was that Oladipo would be able to play in games by March.
Oladipo has been doing more behind the scenes in recent weeks. He traveled with the Heat on recent trips to continue his workouts around the team and has been taking part in rigorous pregame two-on-two sessions with teammates.
“I’ve seen enough to know he’s definitely better than he was last year,” Heat forward Udonis Haslem said recently to the Miami Herald of how Oladipo has looked on the court after last year’s surgery. “I haven’t seen any limping. I haven’t seen a lack of confidence. I haven’t seen everything so I can’t make a fair assessment. He looks pretty [good] about where he’s headed.”
Whenever Oladipo returns, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will be faced with another tough rotation decision. Spoelstra has used a four-man bench rotation for most of the season, with Tyler Herro, Dewayne Dedmon, Max Strus and Caleb Martin turning into fixtures off the bench.
With Oladipo expected to play as a reserve upon his return, he’ll force Spoelstra to rethink that rotation. Guard Gabe Vincent has also made a strong case to be part of the Heat’s bench rotation even when the roster is close to full health.
Oladipo signed a one-year minimum deal worth about $2.4 million to return to the Heat as a free agent this past offseason. If Oladipo impresses when he returns, Miami holds his Bird rights and can exceed the salary cap to re-sign him up to his maximum salary when he becomes a free agent this upcoming offseason.
Oladipo was traded to the Heat last March but played in just four games with the Heat last season before feeling discomfort in his right knee and eventually undergoing surgery in May.
With Oladipo splitting last season between the Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and Heat, he averaged 19.8 points while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 32.6 percent on threes, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 33 games (33 starts).
In the wake of last week’s NBA trade deadline, the Heat’s roster currently includes the NBA maximum of 15 players: Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Dedmon, Haslem, Haywood Highsmith, Herro, Kyle Lowry, Martin, Markieff Morris, Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, Strus, P.J. Tucker, Vincent and Omer Yurtseven. Both of the Heat’s two-way contract slots are also occupied with guards Kyle Guy and Javonte Smart.
While there are questions regarding Oladipo’s injury history and what type of player he will be when he returns, adding him into the mix would lift the Heat’s ceiling because he has proven to be one of the NBA’s top two-way players when healthy. 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 in 2017-18 as a member of the Pacers.
In accordance with team policy for injured players, Oladipo hasn’t spoken with reporters since media day on the eve of the first day of training camp in September.
INJURY REPORT
Along with missing Oladipo, the Heat will also be without Dedmon (personal reasons), Herro (right knee contusion), Morris (return to competition reconditioning) and Smart (G League) for Thursday’s final game before the All-Star break.
Butler (right shoulder strain), Haslem (right eye abrasion) and Martin (left Achilles soreness) are listed as questionable.
Morris, Oladipo, Herro, Dedmon and Smart did not travel with the team to Charlotte for Thursday’s contest.
“Everything we’re managing right now is manageable,” Spoelstra said Tuesday of the Heat’s injuries. “A lot of the guys have the same response to me. They say, ‘If this is the playoffs, I’m playing tonight.’ Well, it’s not the playoffs and we want to make sure that we’re handling things so they’re manageable right now and not leading to something else.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 2:00 AM.
