Heat’s Victor Oladipo returns to Indiana for first time since Pacers trade: ‘It is home’

Victor Oladipo returned from injury to make his season debut for the Miami Heat last week. He will begin this week by making his return to a familiar place that he has not been back to in nearly two years.

Since the Indiana Pacers traded Oladipo to the Houston Rockets in January 2021, Oladipo has not played against his former team or even been back to Indianapolis. Injury issues stemming from two surgeries on his right knee in the past three-plus years has delayed that moment.

But with Oladipo healthy and available again after missing the first 24 games of this season because of left knee tendinosis, the wait is over. Oladipo is not only in Indianapolis for the first time since January 2021 for Monday night’s matchup between the Heat and Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, he’s also expected to play against his former team for the first time since being traded.

“It’s going to be different, obviously,” Oladipo said to the Miami Herald ahead of Monday’s game when asked about his emotions entering his return to Indianapolis. “But I look forward to the nostalgia and all the good memories, and then going out there and competing. It’s not my first time playing there and not being on the team. I didn’t start my career there, so I’ve played on the opposing side there before.

“It’s just that it’s my first time going since actually playing for the team there. I look forward to seeing the fans, the old faces. A lot of great people in the organization, so I look forward to seeing them and putting smile on their faces and reminiscing.”

Oladipo, 30, emphasized the positive memories from his three-plus seasons with the Pacers. After all, his best NBA seasons came with Indiana.

Oladipo was named an All-Star two times, voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA Third Team, and earned the NBA’s Most Improved Player award during his time with the Pacers.

“I was able to do what I know I’m capable of doing,” Oladipo said of his time with the Pacers. “Honestly, I just credit their organization from top to bottom for giving me the opportunity to be myself and be able to showcase my talent and my ability because if they didn’t believe in me, then who’s to say that I would be a two-time All-Star or whatever the case may be. I definitely thank them for giving me that opportunity.

“At the end of the day, I don’t take nothing personal. It’s a business, so I don’t take anything personal at all. I had great years there. Unfortunately, it ended the way it ended. But all good things must come to an end.”

Oladipo didn’t get into specifics regarding the end of his Pacers tenure. But former Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough reported shortly after Oladipo was traded to the Rockets last year that Oladipo turned down a multiyear contract extension offer from the Pacers starting at around $25 million per year despite the uncertainty surrounding his long-term health following major knee surgery in 2019.

Once Oladipo reportedly declined the extension, McDonough reported that the Pacers realized he would likely leave the next offseason in free agency. Faced with the possibility of losing Oladipo for nothing in free agency, the Pacers traded him and landed Caris LeVert and a second-round pick.

Oladipo hopes he gets more cheers than boos when he’s introduced for the first time during Monday’s game. But he admits he’s not sure what to expect.

“I mean, there’s always people who might not necessarily know what’s going on, and they just see what they read and they assume that’s how it happened,” said Oladipo, who was acquired by the Heat in a trade with the Rockets in March 2021. “But again, it is what it is. I know that there’s a lot of people who have a lot of love for me there. So regardless of the greeting I get there, I know it’s all love. It’s always going to be that and it will always be that for me too.”

As for Oladipo’s current situation, he insists “it’s the best I’ve felt in a minute” after returning last week from a left knee injury and spending much of the last three years recovering from two surgeries to repair the quad tendon in his right knee.

The Heat is still taking a cautious approach with Oladipo’s minutes and workload because of his injury history. Entering Monday’s matchup against the Pacers, he has averaged 8.7 points while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 25 percent on threes, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 20.9 minutes per game off the bench in his first three appearances of the season.

“My body is still recovering from my surgeries, so I have to understand that and be patient with myself,” he said. “But still go out there and perform at a super high level. I’m healthier than I’ve been in a long time now. I feel great, so just go out there and understand that the mentality has to be the same. Just stay aggressive, make the right play, bring it on both ends of the floor.”

Monday’s return to Indianapolis is bigger than just Oladipo’s first game against the Pacers since Indiana traded him. He also played three seasons at nearby Indiana University on the college level.

“The whole state is like home,” Oladipo said. “It is home, honestly, to be real with you. Anybody from Indiana is a Hoosier. I played there, I went to school there. So I’ll always be a Hoosier. The love I have for the fans there, the love I have for the state there is unmatched. Hopefully I can continue to keep representing them well and giving them something to cheer about and do something special over there for them at some point so they can remember.”

BRINGING BACK ORLANDO ROBINSON

The Heat waived guard Dru Smith from his two-way contract to bring back center Orlando Robinson on a two-way deal on Sunday.

Robinson, who already spent time this season with the Heat as a two-way contract player before he was waived on Nov. 25, has been dominant in the G League. He has averaged 22.4 points and 12.7 rebounds per game in 10 games for the Heat’s developmental affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Even with guard Gabe Vincent not with the Heat in Indianapolis because of a left knee injury, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said “we feel like the position of center is a bigger position of need right now” when explaining the decision to cut Smith to bring in Robinson on a two-way deal. Heat backup center Dewayne Dedmon has been battling an ongoing case of left foot plantar fasciitis this season.

“Right now, we have a lot of ball-handlers. It’s just the nature of things right now,” Spoelstra said. “It’s very fluid. Gabe will be coming back hopefully sooner rather than later. In the meantime, our ball-handling with Kyle [Lowry], Tyler [Herro], Jimmy [Butler], Vic, we feel OK. That also could change in a week or two.”

Robinson, who went undrafted this year out of Fresno State, is with the Heat in Indianapolis for Monday’s game against the Pacers.