Of all the Miami Heat’s signings and re-signings this offseason, it is the one made almost in a vacuum that could hold the largest sway when it comes to the extended prospects of the team’s rebuilt core.
On Aug. 7, well after most of the Heat’s offseason negotiations were complete, the Heat issued a release announcing the return of Victor Oladipo.
“We really like Victor’s versatility and how he impacts the game in multiple ways,” Heat President Pat Riley said. “His speed skill set fits perfectly into the core we have built.”
And that was it.
Unlike with just about every other Heat player who signed this offseason, no media session, no Zoom time, and in none of those other sessions by the newcomers or incumbents, comment on Oladipo.
In many ways, this is the Heat way. When you’re out of commission, you largely are kept out of sight. Riley has made it clear through the team’s intermediaries for decades that injuries and injured players are best left unspoken.
Ask Erik Spoelstra about an injured player and, invariably, the reply is, “No new update.”
As has been the case with Oladipo since his May quadriceps surgery.
And yet, if what currently is in place is all there is to be, due to the team’s position against the luxury tax, Oladipo well could be a key that unlocks the future.
Because he has Bird Rights with the Heat and is on a one-year contract, Oladipo cannot be traded this season without his consent (as is the case, as well, with Dewayne Dedmon and Udonis Haslem, with their one-year contracts).
But because the Heat hold Oladipo’s Bird Rights, they can re-sign him in the offseason without restraint of the salary cap. So what the Heat, Riley and Oladipo essentially did is hedge their bets on the futures market.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks pointed out in his look ahead to next summer’s free agency, it is a hedge that well could work in the Heat’s favor.
According to Marks’ forecast, only the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs project to have at least $30 million in available cap space next summer. While other teams could create significant space by offloading contracts or not retaining their own significant free agents next summer, for the moment it basically leaves three rebuilding teams, hardly the prime market for a player who turns 30 before the next round of free agency, one coming off two major surgeries.
Beyond that, point guard could stand as the most robust position in 2022 free agency, when including potential movement to the market of Dennis Schroder, Ricky Rubio, Jalen Brunson, Tyus Jones, Patrick Beverley, Patty Mills, Tomas Satoransky and, yes, Goran Dragic.
All of which means it is both to the Heat’s benefit and Oladipo’s benefit to make it work in Miami. That, alone, should have each side looking out for the other’s best interest.
With Oladipo anything close to what he once was, or even close to what he provided during his four-game Heat tease at the end of last season, the entire perspective changes, moving Heat from competitive team to contending team.
In every-possession-matters playoff games, it would give the Heat four solid two-way players to put into play, when counting Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and Oladipo. That, in turn, would ease the consternation of riding solely with the offense of Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro, or exclusively with one-way defensive presences.
Oladipo could give the Heat the best of all worlds.
Of course, that’s what the Indiana Pacers thought they had at one time. And the Houston Rockets.
For now, based on the structure of the deal Oladipo signed two weeks ago, the relationship is locked in for the season. With, arguably, no Heat move this offseason holding as much sway with the franchise’s future.
