A week-long delay in completing the Victor Oladipo trade last summer could cost him a significant amount of money down the line and may affect whether he remains with the Pacers, according to Danny Leroux of The Athletic. The deal that sent Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to Indiana in exchange for Paul George was agreed to on June 30, 2017, but couldn’t be completed right away due to the poison pill provision impacting Oladipo’s contract.
Because the NBA calendar starts on July 1, Oladipo was considered to be traded during his fifth year in the league. That’s significant because the Designated Veteran extension outlined in the latest collective bargaining agreement excludes players who have been dealt after their first four seasons. Designated Veteran extensions allow players to receive a starting salary worth up to 35% of the cap, rather than the standard 30%, provided they were recently named MVP, Defensive Player of the Year or made an All-NBA team.
Oladipo will be eligible for a 20% raise on his $21MM salary in 2020/21 or a new deal in 2021/22 that begins at 30% of that year’s cap. Although the situation saves money for the Pacers, it also lessens their financial advantage once Oladipo becomes a free agent. Leroux notes that Oladipo will become eligible for an extension of his current deal on October 31 of next year. Indiana may try to work out a new contract then and avoid the free agency experience.
There’s more news from the Central Division:
- After being waived by the Pacers on Saturday, Ben Moore has joined the team’s G League affiliate in Fort Wayne, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic. Moore hadn’t played this season and got into a pair of games as a two-way player last year.
- Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith, who has been told twice this season that he was being removed from the rotation, will make his first start of the year tonight, coach Larry Drew says in a video tweeted by Cleveland.com. Injuries to Kevin Love and Sam Dekker have forced the Cavs to adjust their lineup, with Smith getting the starting nod at small forward and Cedi Osman moving to power forward.
- The Pistons are also making a lineup change, with offseason addition Glenn Robinson III taking Stanley Johnson‘s spot in the starting five, relays Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The move is being made to add more shooting to a unit that has been frequently misfiring, adds Ansar Khan of MLive.
Oladipo was national college player of the year after his junior year at Indiana University. The Pacers would have given George the max. They will Oladipo. The difference between George and Oladipo is George didn’t want to be in Indy, Oladipo does. The first thing he said upon returning was “I’m a Hoosier.”
Vic loves Indy. The man is living his dream. He knows how much he’s making and he’s smart with his money. Fortunately, he gets it. He’s an amazing player but an even better person.
The contract issue had nothing to do with the “delay” occasioned by the moratorium. That was only from July 1 to July 6, all of which is still in the same 2017-18 league year. The reason (I suspect) they didn’t do the deal on June 30 (in the 2016-17 league year) is the salaries wouldn’t have matched. VO’s extension kicked in only with the 2017-18 league year, making his outgoing salary from OKC sufficient for OKC to absorb PG’s contract. I’m sure nobody at the time was thinking VO would ever be a super max candidate. But even if they were, because of the cap rules, it would have been a very hard deal to make on or before June 30th (maybe impossible).
Yeah, this is accurate. The trade they made wouldn’t have worked from a cap standpoint on June 30.
Stanley Johnson can’t shoot. Grab some bench.
No chance Victor leaves Indiana. He’s a Hoosier and it’s “his house”. Some how the writer left all that out of the story. Typical..
How many millions is that worth?
Considering the Pacers can still pay him more than any other team, it’s worth enough millions. You think he’d take a pay cut to play at a place he likes less? Oh OK, good thinking genius…
That assumes that the only thing important to him is where he played college. What if tomorrow his wife wants to move closer to family or if he decides the schools in Denver are better for kids or simply wants to save on state income tax in Florida/Texas.????
Just like Kemba, Kyrie, Kevin, Klay, Porzingas, and AD aren’t going anywhere, neither is Oladipo. Troll all you want, they make the decisions, you don’t. You can blabber all day and night if you want if it makes you feel better. July 1, 2019 they will tell you.
Guess you haven’t heard, the cost of living in Indiana is a ton cheaper in Indiana than in Texas/Florida. Look at he prices of homes. BTW he isn’t married and doesn’t have kids.
Nice outcome for Robinson, who “didn’t fit” after having been drafted in the 2nd round by the Timberpuppies and was unceremoniously cut loose by the team without a clue as to the value of 2nd round picks. Yet another example of the ineptitude of their management and ownership..