After seeing fellow draft mates De’Aaron Fox and Donovan Mitchell land max contract extensions over the past few days, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo is about to get paid himself.
Rumors have been circulating from South Beach that Miami planned on signing the All-Star big to a lucrative contract extension. That has now come to fruition.
Adebayo, 23, was eligible for a $195 million extension, much like Fox and Mitchell. As you can tell, the former first-round pick from Kentucky took that max deal and ran with it. Adebayo can earn $32 million more, making it a $195 million extension, should he earn All-NBA honors in 2020-21.
This extension is obviously warranted. A first-time All-Star this past season, Adebayo has morphed into one of the most-skilled big men in the NBA.
Adebayo’s first three NBA seasons have been defined by improvements each year.
- 2017-18: 6.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 51% shooting
- 2018-19: 8.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 58% shooting
- 2019-20: 15.9 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 5.1 APG, 56% shooting
This type of upward trajectory led to a huge long-term commitment from the Heat. Adebayo was one of the primary reasons this team earned a surprise trip to the NBA Finals this past season. His ability to score, rebound and set up others can’t go unnoticed.
There was some concern that the Heat might wait until next summer to sign Adebayo to an extension given their financials. They have Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk combining to earn north of $80 million this coming season.
However, Adebayo’s new deal will not count against the Heat’s cap until the 2021-22 season. That made it plausible for the team to bite the bullet and extend him on Tuesday.
All of this comes with NBA teams spending a ton of cash during the first few days of free agency despite the economic downturn created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
