Indiana Pacers Rumors
J. Michael Falgoust: Oladipo on why he made an announcement prematurely that he was out: “I didn’t feel as if I would be capable of playing. I was always going to come to the bubble.” #Pacers
J. Michael Falgoust: Oladipo on discussions with league about his getting paid if he doesn’t play in Orlando: “I haven’t talked to them. I don’t have any control of that. I’m just focused on my knee” #Pacers
Tim Bontemps: Nate McMillan says Victor Oladipo has been clear from the beginning that he wanted to come to Orlando and continue working with the team. “That’s the plan, and that’s what we’re doing now.”
J. Michael Falgoust: McMillan on Oladipo: “He’s been looking good. He’s been working extremely hard … He’s a guy that just puts in his work, his time. … He’s been working hard.” #Pacers
Andre Fernandez: Jimmy Butler on playing the #Pacers twice in seeding games. Smiling under his mask: “It’s just a basketball game to me.” #HeatTwitter
Victor Oladipo's remaining salary in dispute
Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo is in an unresolved situation over $3 million in salary, multiple sources told ESPN. Under the rules the NBA established for its season restart in Orlando, players who were healthy but opted not to play would have to forgo their remaining salary for the season. Two weeks ago, in an interview with The Athletic, Oladipo said he was healthy but had decided not to play to ensure recovery from tearing his quad tendon in January 2019.
In the days since, lawyers from the player’s union and the NBA have reviewed the situation and there is dispute over where Oladipo’s situation falls. The union believes Oladipo, who went to Orlando with the Pacers and then cleared quarantine so he could practice, should be paid his remaining salary, sources said. The league, largely in an effort to set a precedent in case other players who are deemed healthy want to leave Orlando and no longer play, believes Oladipo has opted out and should not be paid, sources said. His public comments about feeling healthy has only solidified the league’s position on the matter, sources said. The Pacers support Oladipo’s decision and are willing to pay him the salary whether he plays or not, sources said.
Myles Turner: Contrary to popular belief bubble life ain’t half bad. Don’t get me wrong I catch myself staring at the ceiling a couple times a day ?? and the meals ain’t what we accustom too, but overall the set up is straight. Strictly bussiness. The effort put In is greatly appreciated!
Scott Agness: Oladipo is practicing each day, even scrimmaging. He hasn’t had any setbacks and was able to rehab during the last four months. His concern for another injury with just one year under contract is real. But he has time – more than a month – to try to ramp up for the playoffs.
Victor Oladipo to play in bubble after all?
Shams Charania: There is growing belief Pacers star Victor Oladipo will attempt to play in the NBA’s restarted season after multiple strong team practices in Orlando, sources inside the bubble tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
Eric Woodyard: Pacers Coach Nate McMillan says there’s no restrictions on how they’re using Victor Oladipo in practices, although he isn’t playing in Orlando. Victor has been on all the practice teams and still playing regularly. “He’s been going hard,” McMillan said.
Scott Agness: Pacers first practice at Disney is complete. The focus was on acclimating to the surroundings and becoming familiar with one another again. They did some 5-on-5. When asked about Malcolm Brogdon’s status, Nate McMillan said he could not comment on who was absent.
Bryant soon called him to talk basketball, with the “Black Mamba” breaking down film with him. Bryant showed him why he considered Larry Bird the sport’s greatest pump-faker – to the delight of the Celtics fan in Chopra. That would lead to a long and often arduous collaboration that would become the well-regarded “Kobe Bryant’s Muse” that debuted on Showtime in 2015. It recounted Bryant’s long journey back from injury while delving into his motivations and controversies. “That project over the course of two years, as it intensified, I got to know him and his family and his story,” Chopra said.
Victor Oladipo eyeing move to Miami?
The chatter began with The Athletic’s Shams Charania noting the Heat’s interest in adding both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Oladipo — the two players that I had identified a week earlier as Miami’s most likely targets in 2021 free agency. And now comes a Wednesday report from the Indianapolis Star that “despite rampant speculation that he could end up with the Knicks (he fired Leon Rose of CAA, then his agent who is now president of the franchise), the strongest preliminary indication is Miami” as his next team.
Adam Zagoria: Legal update: Federal court in South Carolina has issued a scheduling order in Brian Bowen’s racketeering case against Adidas. Trial date is set for July/August 2021. Discovery will begin immediately.
Scott Agness: Malcolm Brogdon, who tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago, is with the Pacers at Disney, per his IG. pic.twitter.com/23izwqMpG4
Scott Agness: Pacers’ first practice in Orlando is scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, 48 hours after their arrival. It will be their first practice since March.
J. Michael Falgoust: McMillan on Oladipo’s decision: “His call. I guess he didn’t feel he would be ready to go. He has always planned to go to Orlando and play 5 on 5. He still plans … to be involved with all the practices. There are no restrictions.” #Pacers
Scott Agness: Pacers are scheduled to land in Orlando around noon on Thursday — among the final teams to arrive for the NBA’s restart.
Once the NBA resumes its season in a controlled environment, players will have more to worry about than winning. They will have varying concerns about how the resumed season could affect their mental health. Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward will be away from his pregnant wife, Robyn, and children until she is due to give birth sometime in September. “It’s definitely a stressful time for us,” said Hayward, whose wife and children are moving to Indianapolis to be near family while he is with the Celtics as part of the NBA’s 2019-20 restart at the ESPN Disney Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.
Scott Agness: Pacers guard Aaron Holiday on Oladipo opting out of Orlando: “We’re all behind Victor.”
J. Michael: The #Pacers would have to waive a player to sign someone else to replace Oladipo. Not doing that, I’m told. Their priority remains getting out of this in one piece. Not advancing in the playoffs. Other teams feel the same way. This isn’t a typical postseason
Turner’s father, David, contracted the COVID-19 virus and was quarantined in a bedroom in the family home in Dallas for about 10 days. He’s doing well now according to Myles, but the episode had an obvious impact on his feelings toward going back to basketball when the number of cases of infected people continues to rise. Turner moved back into his parents’ house when he returned to Texas after the season was put on hold. His father hadn’t been feeling well and was discovered to have the virus the second time he was tested. “I saw it firsthand and how it affected my family and I couldn’t imagine how it’s affected other families,” Turner said Friday during a Zoom call with media members. “I definitely wasn’t a big proponent of playing at first. I still have questions now, but most of the questions have been answered.”
“The world will be watching,” President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said Tuesday in a 40-minute Zoom conference with media members. “We’re probably going to have some of the highest TV ratings we’ve ever had. I can feel in the air there’s a pent-up demand for our sport, and sports in general. “You go from apprehension on one end of the pendulum to excitement at the other end,” Pritchard added. “(We’re) getting excited to go play basketball and we look at this as a unique experience. I’m hopeful this is the only one we ever have to do.”
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Ian Begley: Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard on Victor Oladipo: “We totally respect and understand Victor’s decision to not play in the restart of the NBA’s season.” Pritchard’s full statement here: pic.twitter.com/jCcQ7jOlHR
Scott Agness: No, Lance Stephenson is not an option to replace Oladipo. Source close to the situation confirms that he is ineligible. On March 11, the morning the season was suspended, I reported how he was nearing a deal to return (after injuries to Brogdon and Lamb).
“I really want to play, and as a competitor and teammate this is tearing me apart,” Oladipo told The Athletic. “I feel like I’m at a great place in my rehab and getting closer and closer to 100 percent. With all the variables, from how I have to build my 5-on-5 workload back up, to the increased risk of a soft tissue injury which could delay my rehab, and the unknown exact set up of the bubble, I just can’t get my mind to being fully comfortable in playing. I have to be smart and this decision hasn’t been easy, but I truly believe continuing on the course I’m on and getting fully healthy for the 2020-21 season is the right decision for me.”
Oladipo has spent the past three months training with his physical therapist, Luke Miller. “Vic looks great and feels great and is in the best shape he’s ever been in,” Miller said. “He hasn’t had a setback at all. Now it’s about him taking everything into account, close this 2019-20 chapter and focus on 2020-21, which I believe will be a big one. He’s extremely close to the old VO, but he’s not there yet and he knows the work to get back there.
“This kind of injury takes a while to get back from. This is a very rare injury. He’s playing this smart and we look at it as: He came back, he got into rotation, he got a feel for the game and his knee really responded well — and we had to shut this whole thing down from the pandemic. We haven’t been able to play five-on-five yet due to circumstances. Now we’re asking guys to ramp up in 21 days. That’s just a real short time window for a person with his kind of injury.
“He’s a very smart guy, and he’s asked several different doctors and physicians across the country, mentors and former basketball players he looks up to. We treated these past three months as if he was going to come back, so he kept everything high intensity-wise. “We told him from the start that he wouldn’t be 100 percent right away. It takes guys a good two years. It takes two years before you wake up in the morning and say, ‘I didn’t have surgery.’ We’ve talked through this thing — we just forgot to factor in the pandemic. That’s where he is hitting the reset button and focus on 2020-21. That’s where his mindset is.”
Eric Woodyard: Pacers’ All-Star Domantas Sabonis compares Orlando bubble to Olympic village: “Everybody’s going to eat in the same place, everybody’s going to live in the same place and it definitely has that kind of feel. I’m used to it. I’ve been in that many times growing up.”
Scott Agness: Asked Domantas Sabonis about ultimately signing a contract extension before the season, giving him one less thing to be concerned with during this unusual time. “I dodged a bullet,” he said. “I’m happy I did it.”
Pacers not adding anybody?
Starting Wednesday, teams are allowed to sign substitutes. The Pacers, a league source said, aren’t in the market to sign one unless they have someone back out before leaving July 9.
Victor Oladipo not sure about playing
Indiana Pacers All-Star Victor Oladipo isn’t ready to commit to playing at the NBA restart in Orlando even though Wednesday is supposed to be the deadline for the 22 participating teams to declare their traveling list of 35. Except, league sources tell IndyStar, it’s not a firm deadline. “Nothing is locked in like a normal roster deadline,” one of the sources said.
Oladipo insisted that his thought process has nothing to do with 2020-21, when he’ll be in the final year of his contract with the Pacers and likely enter the summer as an unrestricted free agent. “I understand this is a business,” Oladipo said. “I’m making this decision based on my health. I want to be at the best form possible.”
Steve Gansey is remaining coach of the Mad Ants at least through Nov. 1. Gansey, 34, the head coach since 2015, reached an agreement with the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, who own and operate the G League’s Mad Ants. His contract was to expire Wednesday.
Gansey’s short-term plan is to scout players from afar with the hope he and the Pacers can reach an agreement for next season, a conversation that may not happen until after the NBA playoffs in October. “I can look at some other G League players and players who were on (two-way contracts) this year,” Gansey said. “You know, there are guys who have played overseas and I can do some scouting on some of these college guys and guys who are going to enter the draft here pretty soon.”
Scott Agness: Video of Victor Oladipo working out at the Pacers’ facility today, Day 1 of mandatory individual work. (📹: Pacers)
Scott Agness: Victor Oladipo says his biggest concern about returning is the potential for another injury. He believes he’s susceptible to injury more than anyone. “It’s not about now, it’s about longevity.”
