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Rookie guard Victor Oladipo may have inadvertently fanned some rivalry flames Thursday night with a remark he made about the Cleveland Cavaliers. At an exclusive event for Orlando Magic season ticket-holders, the Indiana product said, "I really didn't want to go to Cleveland." The Cavaliers used the first pick in the 2013 NBA Draft to select UNLV forward Anthony Bennett, leaving Oladipo available for Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan to select with the second pick.
The Magic's official Twitter account posted the remark, but has since taken it down.
To his credit, Oladipo quickly took to Twitter himself to explain the remark: "Sorry to all the cavs fan if I offended them in anyway making the comment I made I didn't mean it the way you all took it," he wrote. David Steele, the Magic's television play-by-play announcer, said Oladipo's comment "was harmless banter."
Orlando's first regular-season game against the Cavaliers is set for December 13th at Amway Center. Oladipo makes his first professional visit to Cleveland on January 2nd. One gets the impression that the Cavalier faithful will not extend to him a warm welcome.