After J. Michael’s story in the IndyStar revealed that Victor Oladipo has allegedly talked to other NBA players about leaving the Indiana Pacers in public settings, many have voiced their opinions on the subject.
After keeping things on the down-low since it dropped, J. Michael called into The Fan Morning Show on Wednesday to defend the story and give some more information. He told Jeff Rickard and Big Joe that he stands by the story and no one from Oladipo’s base responded to him when he asked.
“That’s why it took me so long to put the story together because I had been working on it and was trying to find information to tell me it was not as bad as it seemed,” J. Michael said. “I waited for certain people including Oladipo’s agent (Aaron Turner) to respond. I communicated with them over the course of a month without a return call and waited because I wanted to give them every chance possible to give me something that disproves this. The more people I talked to made it stronger, not weaker.”
Elsewhere on 107.5 The Fan, Dan Dakich had former Indiana head coach Tom Crean on his show last week. Crean said that when he talked with Oladipo personally, he denied that the story was true. But if the alleged comments are incorrect, why didn’t the people around Vic tell that to J. Michael?
“I’ve been hearing that Victor’s people have been coming at me but they have my phone number and nobody has called me,” J. Michael added. “I haven’t run from anyone. I called Turner so many times that I couldn’t leave anymore messages. I texted him repeatedly and he consistently said he would call in the morning. But he never called. I gave them every opportunity to get back to me.”
The interview with J. Michael and the guys was eye-opening. You can listen to it here.
“If you have a client like Turner has in Oladipo, who is by far his biggest client, and you know that this story is coming out you should respond to my call,” J. Michael explained. “You should either answer me or put Victor on the phone. He hasn’t been in the agent business very long, so I don’t think he has the most experienced media-savvy group around him.”
Decisions have to be made regarding Oladipo’s future. Clearly since Vic’s people have not been willing to talk, it’s unclear as to who is going to make the first move.
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