Word broke over the weekend that Victor Oladipo had turned down a contract extension offer from the Rockets, but the two-time All-Star actually passed on that offer a while ago, he confirmed on Monday. As Oladipo explained, the proposal was just a formality, since the team understood he wouldn’t sign it.
“It was more along the lines, ‘We know you’re not going to accept it, but we still want you to understand we want you here,'” Oladipo said of the Rockets’ offer. “… It was put in front of me or given to me to show me that they want me to be here. I didn’t get a chance to say yes or no. They already knew I wasn’t going to accept it anyway.”
Oladipo’s decision to decline the offer doesn’t necessarily mean that he has no interest in remaining with the Rockets long-term — it’s more about his desire to reach the open market this summer as a free agent. He had previously turned down a more lucrative offer from Indiana for the same reason.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Before he makes his debut for the Rockets, recently-acquired guard Kevin Porter is getting back up to speed in the G League, and his stint with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers is going well so far. Porter was officially named the NBAGL Player of the Week on Tuesday after averaging 27.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in his past four games.
- Lonzo Ball has been the subject of some trade rumors this season, but the Pelicans guard thinks that he, Zion Williamson, and Brandon Ingram could be the start of a formidable long-term core for the franchise, as Christian Clark of NOLA.com writes. “I love playing with those guys,” Ball said of the two standout forwards. “I’m really cool with them off the court as well. We’re all young. I think we can do some big things.”
- It took nearly a year for him to finally take the court for the Grizzlies, but now that he’s healthy, Justise Winslow is grateful that the team traded for him and stuck with him during his lengthy injury rehab process, as Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details. “This trade was one of the best things to happen in my life on and off the court for me,” Winslow told sideline reporter Rob Fischer on Sunday. “This organization just being so patient with me. I’m just so thankful. A lot of gratitude and a lot of joy in my heart right now.”
So glad to see Justise back doing what I know he is capable of. He is a winner
Oladipo is so overrated.. he’s not worth a max.. he thinks he is.. can’t stay healthy. He’s shooting 29% from 3 with rockets. Played 23 games last year and has missed 10 of 33 this year.. truth is he’s overated. He balled out first year in ind..he’s played 101 games since 2017.. thats a lot of missed games in 4 years
Miami can’t wait to sign him. I’m sure both the mavs and knicks will throw the brinks truck at him also.
With Miami’s conditioning, doubt he’d make it out of training camp
Knicks could and historically would
But they’ve seemed less likely to make boneheaded moves of late, so I’m hoping they won’t
I’m sure a lot of players are worth less than they think, we see that all the time in free agency. Dipo is making $21M/year and he won’t be getting a max contract, but he should still get a slight raise in his next deal.
Dipo is another example of players who don’t keep it 100. Like we know you do not want to be there and you want more money. Be true to yourself and move forward.
Ball is a nice player and for the right price makes sense next to Zion and BI
But SVG is committing malpractice right now w/ these lineups. Last night it seemed like he ran 75% of the offense thru Lonzo and Bledsoe down the stretch.
If you let Zion bring the ball up the guy is insane. Not sure I’ve seen anything quite like it. If SVG can’t figure that out they need to find someone who can.
Kvn Porter is “starting out” well in the GL. It’s what the Cavs should have done… They needed/need a tall PG, just not so fast. Rookies who fell in the draft should be the best candidates to start there.
There should be an NBA age rule… they can still be paid NBA money or close to it.