Victor Oladipo won't be at The Fieldhouse on Saturday for Pacers-Heat
The former Pacers guard continues to rehab from a second surgery on his right quadriceps tendon.
Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo is not traveling with the team to Indianapolis, a league source told Fieldhouse Files.
The IU grad and former Pacer remains sidelined after having surgery to repair his right quadricep tendon, the same one that ruptured when he was with Indiana on Jan. 23, 2019 against the Raptors.
Saturday is the home opener for the Pacers and it’s against the Heat (7 p.m. ET). They’re beginning a new era under head coach Rick Carlisle, and The Fieldhouse will be open to full capacity (about 18,000) for the first time since March 2020.
The Pacers will be wearing their gold Statement Edition uniforms and, as I reported two weeks ago, it’s a gold out. All fans will receive a gold t-shirt.
The two-time All-Star is in his ninth season. He appeared in 139 games with the Pacers from 2017-2021 and averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 and 4.3 assists — all career highs. Nine months ago, on Jan. 13, the Pacers dealt Oladipo to the Rockets and received Caris LeVert from the Nets as part of a four-team trade.
He would have faced the Pacers while a member of the Rockets, except that Feb. 20 game was postponed due to severe weather conditions in Houston.
After being traded for the second time last season, acquired by the Heat from the Rockets last March, Oladipo could have made his Heat debut in Indianapolis on March 31. However, he had a head cold, according to league sources, and chose to suit up for the first time with the Heat the following day against the Warriors.
He had six points, three rebounds, five assists and two steals in 23 minutes.
Oladipo, 29, only played in four games with the Heat because he sustained another injury to his right quad tendon one week later, then had surgery — with a different doctor — on May 13.
Oladipo’s contract expired after last season and he re-upped with Miami, where he has spent his offseason since 2017, on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum ($2.4 million).
Wow we dodged a bullet on that one! Best wishes to Vic he was fun to watch at IU and as a Pacer.