Victor Oladipo is headed back to the Miami Heat. According to report by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Oladipo will sign a free agent contract with the team that traded for him last year with the hopes of getting a work at him before he hit the open market.
Free agent Victor Oladipo has agreed to a deal to return to the Miami Heat, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 4, 2021
While the Heat paid a relatively low price to bring Oladipo in from the Houston Rockets, the former All-Star only appeared in four games before the team decided to shut him down. Eventually, it was determined that Oladipo would need to undergo season-ending surgery on his previously torn quadriceps. He’d later go on to say that there were longstanding issues with his original surgery that needed to be corrected by going under the knife one more time.
As Charania noted, signing Oladipo to a deal while he presumably spends most, if not all, of this season rehabbing gives Miami the opportunity to sign him to a substantial contract next summer.
Oladipo will eye 2022 free agency to return to the market and sign a big contract once he's fully healthy. Miami will retain Oladipo's Bird Rights, allowing them to find the means to sign him again next offseason. https://t.co/IRPUndKXgj
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 4, 2021
Oladipo has been on a lengthy road to recovery since tearing his quad in early 2019. Since then, he’s suited up for three teams — the Indiana Pacers, the Rockets, and the Heat — but has not quite looked like his former self. It is evident that he believes he’ll be able to get back to that level eventually, and Miami wants to position itself in the event that happens.
