Pacers guard Victor Oladipo will test his surgically repaired quad tendon before making a final decision on playing in Orlando, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Oladipo plans to start intense workouts next week to see how his body responds before making a commitment. He made his season debut January 29 and played in just 13 games before the hiatus, averaging 13.8 PPG in about 26 minutes per night. The former All-Star missed roughly a year of action after suffering the injury in January of 2019.
“I feel a whole lot better,” Oladipo said. “I know there’s risk going into it with the unique situation that I’m in — being off so long and trying to ramp it up that fast. I’ve just got to be smart, that’s all.”
The Pacers worked with Oladipo throughout his rehab process and were careful not to bring him back too soon, Wojnarowski adds. They will continue to watch him closely until a final decision is made.
Players face a Wednesday deadline to inform the league if they plan to report to Orlando, and teams must submit their active rosters by July 1. It’s not clear if Indiana would be able to replace Oladipo if he opts not to play, since substitute players aren’t eligible to replace players with injuries.
Oladipo played bad enough as he was getting back into game shape, don’t think IND would miss him much, or not as much as they would Domas & Brogdon.