Victor Oladipo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Banchero, Goodwin, Bridges, Hunter, Oladipo

October 18th, 2022 at 8:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paolo Banchero‘s rookie season begins in Detroit on Wednesday. The Magic forward knows he’ll have a target on his back as the top overall pick and he’s looking forward to the challenge, Marc Stein reports in a Substack post.

“Every guy on the opposite team knows who I am and probably wants to prove something and is probably going to test me — especially with me also being a rookie — and try to see what I’m made of,” Banchero said. “So the key is just being ready for it and accepting the challenge. That’s not something I back down from.”

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Guard Jordan Goodwin had his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal by the Wizards over the weekend. He will try to live up to the contract by being messy — in a good way, as he told Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “[I’m] just a guy that can do a lot of things,” Goodwin said. “I think my main focus here is just going to be defensively. Try to come in and muck things up, make things a little messy. Just make the right play offensively, whether that’s shoot the ball or make the extra pass, screening.”
A preliminary hearing regarding Miles Bridges’ felony domestic violence case in Los Angeles was delayed for the seventh time Monday and moved to November 3, according to Michael Gordon of the Charlotte Observer. In the hearing, prosecutors will be required to produce evidence to show the Hornets free agent forward committed a crime. Bridges was arrested on June 29 and faces three felony domestic violence charges.
De’Andre Hunter got his rookie scale extension. Now, the Hawks forward wants to show he’s worthy of the four-year contract, which can be worth up to $95MM, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. “I mean, it’s gonna be my home for the next four or five years, whatever,” Hunter said. “Like I said, I’m just grateful, thankful that they gave me the opportunity, that they have so much faith in me as a player, just trying to work my butt off and do what I need to do to become a better player for the team.”
The Heat’s Victor Oladipo (left knee tendinosis) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle impingement) are listed as out for Wednesday’s opener against the Bulls, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets.

Heat Notes: Oladipo, Strus, Haslem, Adebayo

October 18th, 2022 at 12:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

There are health concerns regarding Victor Oladipo as the Heat prepare for their season opener, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Oladipo was held out of today’s practice due to left knee tendonosis and may not be able to play Wednesday night. The team’s official injury report will be released later this afternoon.

Miami will proceed cautiously with Oladipo, who has undergone two surgeries on his right knee in a little more than three years. Even though this condition affects his other knee, there is speculation that it may be related to his injury history.

“When you really start to ramp it up, there’s still a little bit of overcompensation and a lot of load on the other leg,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Everybody downstairs feels like this is the normal process. I know how badly he wants to be out there right now. But we’re looking at this big picture still and we don’t want to skip steps. We want to make sure his body is feeling great and so things like this don’t linger.”

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After earning a starting role in late March, Max Strus will have to get used to coming off the bench again, Chiang adds. Strus spent the preseason working on his fit with the reserves. “I would imagine I would be more aggressive in the second unit because I’m not playing with Jimmy (Butler), Kyle (Lowry), Bam (Adebayo). Maybe I’ll look for my shot a little more,” Strus said. “But I am still going to play the same way I always do, get everybody else involved and find my shots throughout the offense.”
Strus may be the only bench player with regular minutes every night, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Roles for Dewayne Dedmon, Duncan Robinson and Haywood Highsmith could depend on matchups, and Spoelstra may go back and forth between Oladipo and Gabe Vincent in the backcourt. First-round pick Nikola Jovic will have to prove he’s ready to contribute right away.
Udonis Haslem has been the Heat’s inspirational leader for most of his 20-year career, but he’s getting ready to pass the torch, Chiang states in a separate story. As Haslem prepares for his final NBA season, the 42-year-old believes Adebayo is ready to take on that leadership role. “He can have it now. It’s time for him,” Haslem said. “… We’ve had these conversations about physically, vocally, emotionally. I think it’s time for him.”

Fischer’s Latest: Suns, Johnson, Oladipo, K. Martin, G. Williams

October 12th, 2022 at 11:36am CST by Luke Adams

When the Suns engaged in trade talks for Kevin Durant this offseason, they made it clear that Cameron Johnson was off limits, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

While it’s hard to believe that the inclusion of Johnson would’ve been a deal-breaker for the Suns if they had a realistic shot to land Durant, Fischer’s report suggests the team is high on the fourth-year wing and is hoping to lock him up long-term.

According to Fischer, “early indications” suggested that Phoenix would like to sign Johnson to an extension in the range of $72MM over four years. Whether that’s enough to get anything done with the young sharpshooter remains to be seen.

Fischer’s first roundup of NBA rumors for Yahoo Sports focuses primarily on the Suns and Jae Crowder, as we detailed earlier today. But there are a few more odds and ends within the article about other teams and players. Here are some of the highlights:

According to Fischer, the Wizards were one of the teams with legitimate interest in signing Victor Oladipo in free agency this past summer. Fischer writes that Oladipo turned down a “potential starting opportunity” in D.C. in order to remain with the Heat.
The Suns have had discussions about the possibility of acquiring Rockets forward Kenyon Martin Jr., who has also drawn interest from the Trail Blazers and Heat, Fischer reports. Martin reportedly spoke to Rockets management this offseason about the idea of being dealt.
Interestingly, Fischer cites sources who say there doesn’t seem to be a contract extension coming for Celtics forward Grant Williams. The team still has five more days to work out a potential deal with Williams before this year’s rookie scale extension deadline of October 17. If Williams doesn’t sign a new contract by then, he’ll become a restricted free agent next summer.

Heat Notes: Herro, Cain, Jovic, Oladipo, Haslem

October 8th, 2022 at 12:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat initially offered Tyler Herro a four-year rookie scale extension with $112MM in guaranteed money and incentives that would have pushed its value to $128MM, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports.

Miami eventually upped the ante, with Herro signing a four-year deal with $120MM in guaranteed money and another $10MM in incentives.

“I wanted to be here and they wanted me here, so I mean, it was something we both wanted to get done,” Herro said. “We’re paying a lot of guys now. … so it was just getting the right number. I think it’s a good deal for both sides.”

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Herro didn’t play in the back-to-back preseason games on Thursday and Friday due to a knee contusion, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes.
In the same notebook, Chiang writes that Oakland University rookie Jamal Cain may be forcing the team’s hand with some impressive preseason performances. Cain, who is on an Exhibit 10 deal, had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 11 rebounds and five steals in 27 minutes against Brooklyn on Thursday and 19 points, six rebounds and three assists against the Grizzlies on Friday. Cain may not pass through waivers without being claimed, so Miami will have to consider converting him to a standard deal or a two-way, though both of the team’s two-way slots are currently filled.
Along with trying to make his mark on the team, Nikola Jovic is in the midst of finishing high school, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. Jovic still has to take one more comprehensive exam to get his high school degree from his Serbian school. He skipped the exam during the spring while undergoing draft workouts.
Victor Oladipo hasn’t played in the preseason as the Heat are taking a cautious approach with the oft-injured guard, according to Chiang. Oladipo re-signed with the club on a two-year, $18.2MM contract this summer. “We’re just getting him ready and that’s really it,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He had a very good camp, he’s doing some really good work right now and we want to keep in this good place.”
Playing 20 seasons with one franchise, putting him in rare company, was one of the reasons why Udonis Haslem decided to keep his career going this season, ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez writes in a lengthy interview with the 42-year-old big man. “I want kids somewhere to say, ‘I want to have a career like Udonis Haslem — undrafted, worked for everything I got, won three championships, retired and went into ownership with the same organization I played with for 20 years,” Haslem said.

Heat Notes: Herro, Robinson, Oladipo, Jovic

October 3rd, 2022 at 9:10am CST by Arthur Hill

After waiting all summer for an extension, Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro has agreed to a deal that could top many of his peers, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Herro’s new contract, which takes effect next season, could pay him up to $130MM over four years, with $120MM guaranteed and the rest available through incentives.

Herro has the opportunity to earn more than the Knicks’ RJ Barrett, who recently agreed to a four-year, $120MM rookie scale extension, Jackson notes. Herro’s deal also exceeds the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, who got a four-year, $107MM extension in 2019, and the Suns’ Mikal Bridges, who signed for four years at $90MM in 2021.

Herro’s base starting salary will be $26.8MM, which is a 20% discount from the projected max, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.

There’s more from Miami:

The Heat may find it more difficult to find a taker for Duncan Robinson now that Herro’s extension is in place, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. With Herro making just $5.7MM this year on the final season of his rookie contract, he was seen as a possible incentive in a deal for Robinson, but the poison pill provision will make Herro extremely difficult to move in 2022/23. Winderman states that the Heat will be limited financially unless they can find a taker for Robinson, especially with Max Strus headed toward free agency next summer.
After four years of battling injuries, Victor Oladipo is just focused on staying healthy this season, Winderman adds in a separate story. “I really don’t have any goals or expectations for myself,” he said. “For this team, it’s to win a championship, obviously. But for me, it’s to contribute. Right now, I’m just focused on doing that. I think that sometimes, if we get too far ahead, or look too far back, that sometimes we can be disappointed, and sometimes you can lose sight of what is in front of you. For me, I’m just trying to stay in the moment.”
Nikola Jovic struggled through Summer League, but veteran big man Udonis Haslem sees a lot of potential in the first-round pick, per Payton Titus of The Miami Herald. “[Jović] can score anywhere on the basketball court, can shoot with either hand, hard worker,” Haslem said. “Just experience, you know, experience is going to be the biggest thing that he’s going to need is this time over here working with us. The practice every day, competing, the physicality of it, getting in the weight room. And all those things are part of player development that we do very well here.”

Heat Notes: Oladipo, Martin, Salary Cap, Butler

September 11th, 2022 at 1:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Heat are investing $15MM+ this season in Victor Oladipo and Caleb Martin in the hopes that both players can build on their encouraging 2021/22 runs. While Miami is certainly hoping guard Oladipo can get closer to his pre-injury All-Star heights this season, and that the 6’5″ Caleb Martin can convincingly play significant minutes as the team’s power forward, the team has a variety of other options to pick up the slack on its roster if neither scenario comes to pass, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

As Winderman observes, guards Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, and Gabe Vincent make up a threatening backcourt rotation with or without Oladipo stepping up, and 6’7″ small forward Jimmy Butler will most likely at least finish games as Miami’s power forward.

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On the heels of the news that the league’s salary cap is on track to increase over $10MM to a projected $134MM for 2023/24, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes that the Heat still won’t have much flexibility to add new players, given the $132.4MM Miami has locked in for just its five best players with guaranteed deals that season. Assuming Herro reaches a contract extension agreement with the club and a few other contracts remain on the team’s books, the club could quite possibly exceed the expected $162MM tax threshold in 2023/24, according to Jackson, who opines that the best way for Miami to make upgrades will be through trades, not free agency.
Butler was awarded a 93 overall player rating, the ninth-best among all players in the new video game NBA 2K23, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Winderman notes that Butler’s score ties him with fellow All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Ja Morant.

And-Ones: Kurucs, Smith, Iguodala, Brooks, Trent Jr.

August 23rd, 2022 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA forward Rodions Kurucs has officially signed a one-year contract with Real Betis Baloncesto in Seville, Spain, according to a team press release. The Spanish team’s interest in Kurucs was reported earlier this month.

Kurucs has appeared in 131 NBA games, including a total of 21 with Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Houston during the 2020/21 campaign. He played with KK Partizan in Serbia last season. Kurucs also saw action in four Summer League contests with the Raptors in July.

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French big man Victor Wembanyama and G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson are the early favorites to go 1-2 in next year’s draft. Who’s No. 3? Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo chooses Arkansas freshman guard Nick Smith. Woo unveils his early first-round mock for 2023, which is filled with wings and guards.
Andre Iguodala believes the NBA should continue to play 82 regular season games, Lee Tran of FadeAwayWorld.net relays. On his Point Forward podcast, Iguodala says the grind of an NBA season “separates the men from the boys,” adding “We can’t change 82 games. 82 games … there’s a mental side of it. That’s why we talk about rookie wall. Records are made to be broken, and as we get better over time we’ll break more records. But I do think that there’s a foundation in all sports, you have to carry on that tradition.”
Dillon Brooks, Gary Trent Jr. and Victor Oladipo are among the potential free agents in next year’s class who could pump up their value during the upcoming season, Dan Devine of The Ringer writes. Devine takes a closer look at eight “compelling” players to watch as they head into possible contract years.

Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Oladipo, Durant, Kispert

August 14th, 2022 at 3:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra seems likely to let chemistry and on-court fit determine the team’s lineups, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in a reader mailbag. Winderman notes that Miami may even consider Max Strus or Caleb Martin as its starting power forward. The team let starting power forward P.J. Tucker leave for the Sixers in free agency this summer and hasn’t re-signed backup Markieff Morris, also a free agent.

Though the starting roles of All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler, All-Defensive Team center Bam Adebayo, and $85M point guard Kyle Lowry appear secure for opening night, it seems that Spoelstra may be amenable to experimenting in training camp to figure out who fits best alongside that trio. Strus and Tucker closed the 2021/222 season as the other starters.

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In another mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that a big X-factor in the Heat‘s success this season could be the two-way play of Victor Oladipo, who signed a new two-year, $18.2MM contract. Winderman notes that the handle, defense, and shooting upside of the 6’4″ combo guard out of Indiana could prove to be massive assets for Miami in the East. Since being acquired from the Rockets in 2021, Oladipo has appeared in just 12 regular season games with the Heat, though he proved to be a helpful contributor during Miami’s 2022 run to the Eastern Conference Finals, playing in 15 playoff contests. Winderman wonders if Oladipo may even prove himself to be more valuable to the Heat than extension-eligible Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro, given Oladipo’s defensive skill set.
As chatter of a potential Kevin Durant deal to the Heat looms, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel notes that Durant’s interest in joining the Heat can only go so far in getting him to Miami. Winderman writes that, due to the four years remaining on the All-Star forward’s current contract with the Nets, Brooklyn is in the driver’s seat for a potential trade, looking to extract maximum assets in any deal.
Wizards second-year small forward Corey Kispert could take a big leap in output this season if history is a reliable metric, opines Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The 6’7″ swingman, 23, was selected with the No. 15 pick out of Washington in 2022. Across 77 games, he averaged 8.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.1 APG, while shooting .455/.350/.871. Hughes writes that, across his final 24 appearances after All-Star weekend, Kispert converted 38.6% of his long-range looks, a significant uptick from the 32.2% of his triples he had nailed in his first 53 NBA games. Hughes takes stock of the first and second-season production of historic three-point specialists like Danny Green, Buddy Hield, Bryn Forbes, Seth Curry and others, and draws comparisons to what Kispert could be able to do in his second year with Washington.

Southeast Notes: Oladipo, Durant, Wagner, Maker

August 10th, 2022 at 6:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Victor Oladipo, who re-signed with the Heat this summer on a two-year deal worth approximately $18MM, has only appeared in 12 regular season games since he was acquired from Houston at the 2021 trade deadline, but he’s ready to return to top form, he told Vince Carter on the VC podcast (hat tip to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald).

He’s calling it his “Revenge Tour.”

“When I say revenge, I’m taking about God’s revenge,” Oladipo said. “They messed up my surgery, I sat back. I tore my quad, I sat back. But now it’s my time to rise, I truly believe that. So that’s the revenge tour. That’s what it’s all about. It’s one day at a time, it’s a constant grind every day. That’s what I’m focused on doing.”

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Kevin Durant‘s ultimatum to the Nets could be a potential boost for the Heat in trade talks, Chiang speculates. Brooklyn might decide to lower its asking price before having the awkward situation drags into training camp. The Heat have been unwilling to part with center Bam Adebayo or Jimmy Butler in a Durant deal. Adebayo is not currently eligible to be included in a Durant trade unless the Nets also trade Ben Simmons to the Heat or another team due to the Designated Rookie Extension rule. Miami’s current trade package would be highlighted by Tyler Herro.
Magic big man Moritz Wagner won’t play for Germany in the World Cup qualifiers or FIBA EuroBasket 2022 due to an ankle injury, according to Eurohoops.net. The severity of the ankle injury wasn’t revealed but Wagner expressed disappointment that he won’t be able to participate. “The fact that my ankle isn’t healed is difficult to accept at first, but it’s part of the game,” he said in a statement released by the German federation. “This team is special and I’m looking forward to watching the boys play and supporting them.”
The plan for Makur Maker is to play with the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, during the upcoming season, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post. Maker was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract on Wednesday. The contract will allow Maker to receive a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived during the preseason and then spends at least 60 days as an affiliate player.

Eastern Notes: Bridges, Oladipo, Pistons, Harden

July 22nd, 2022 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

Hornets forward Miles Bridges entered a plea of not guilty to three felony domestic violence charges during his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.

Bridges’ next court appointment is on August 19, according to Holmes, who says a date for a preliminary hearing is set to be scheduled at that time. The L.A. District Attorney’s office has indicated that Bridges could face a maximum sentence of 11 years and eight months in prison if he’s convicted of the three domestic abuse charges he faces, tweets Steve Reed of The Associated Press.

The NBA will wait for the legal process to play out before determining whether to levy any penalties of its own against Bridges. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the league wouldn’t have the ability to suspend Bridges if he’s found not guilty. However, a suspension is possible if he’s found guilty, he reaches a plea deal, or the charges are dropped.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Heat haven’t made any major outside additions to their roster this offseason, but if Victor Oladipo rounds back into form, that could represent a significant upgrade for the team in lieu of a trade acquisition or free agent signing, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Oladipo has played just 12 games for Miami since arriving at the 2021 deadline, but should be healthier in 2022/23 than he has been at any point since originally injuring his quad tendon in early 2020.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com takes a look at the Pistons‘ projected starting five, suggesting that Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey are locks to be part of that group and will likely be joined by Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey. Several players could be in the mix for the fifth starting spot, according to Langlois, who views Isaiah Livers as the slight favorite over Marvin Bagley III, Alec Burks, and others.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores the new agreement between James Harden and the Sixers, wondering if the two sides have a wink-wink agreement to complete a lucrative long-term deal next summer or if Philadelphia is hedging its bets by not making a long-term commitment to Harden at this point.