The Biggest Name Yet
The biggest name yet has just opted out of playing during the Orlando restart - Victor Oladipo.
Now, it’s not like the Pacers were one of the favorites to win the NBA championship this year, but they were a clear playoff team. Oldaipo was coming off an injury when he began playing midway through the season, and now his season is officially over. The Pacers still have Malcolm Brogdon and first time All-Star Domantas Sabonis to carry the load in Orlando, but without VO, I would argue most of their hopes of a Cinderella story-esqe playoff run are shattered. What is odd is that Oladipo will be joining the team in Orlando, just not participating in the games.
My biggest question now is, who’s next? Seeing such a big name come out and say that they are not participating in the NBA restart might encourage others who were on the fence to do so as we. Some players such as Bradley Beal and Spencer Dinwiddie are rumored to be weighing their options, so seeing Oladipo back out could give them some confidence for them to do the same. We’ll just have to see what happens in the coming days.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have guys like Evan Fournier, who not only publicly stated his opinion on the subject, but sort of even attacked players who are choosing to not go to Orlando. The biggest names we have seen opt out before Oladipo were Avery Bradley and Davis Bertans, so I can’t imagine what Fournier’s thoughts would be on a guy like Oladipo.
Not only are the Pacers losing an All-Star caliber player, but also the guy they trust with the ball in his hands late in games. The Pacers were obviously already very good without Oladipo for the majority of the season, but losing him now could potentially shake up the way the Eastern Conference is seeded for the playoffs.
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