Heat News: All-Star Agrees to Massive Extension with Miami
NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Adebayo will be staying with Miami for a good long while thanks to a new deal.
On the eve of Wednesday's 2024 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat have inked All-Star and All-Defensive center Bam Adebayo to a lucrative new contract extension.
Sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic that the 6-foot-9 Kentucky product has inked a three-season deal worth $166 million, which will keep him in South Beach through 2028-29.
Adebayo has become a critical All-Defensive franchise cornerstone for the Heat during the team's Jimmy Butler era. Under the tutelage of longtime head coach Erik Spoelstra, the dynamic duo of Adebayo and the well-traveled All-NBA swingman has led the team to a pair of NBA Finals appearances (albeit no titles) since Butler joined as a free agent in a 2019 sign-and-trade, plus three Eastern Conference Finals.
The Heat selected the outstanding big man at the tail end of the 2017 NBA Draft's lottery, with the No. 14 overall pick, after an All-SEC Second-Team one-and-done run under John Calipari at Kentucky in 2016-17.
Adebayo, still just 26, has already racked up major individual accolades, along with his team success. He's been named a three-time All-Star and a five-time All-Defensive Teamer. This season, he made his first-ever All-Defensive First Team, while finishing third in Defensive Player of the Year voting to a pair of international stars, Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and San Antonio Spurs Rookie of the Year big man Victor Wembanyama. Adebayo has finished in the top five among Defensive Player of the Year vote-getters for the past five seasons.
Last year, for an injury-plagued 46-36 Heat squad that finished with the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed, Adebayo posted averages of 19.3 points on .521/.357/.755 shooting splits (though that three point rate arrived on just 0.6 triple tries a night), 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. With Butler on the shelf, the Heat fell in five quick games to the eventual champion Boston Celtics during the first round.
While the fate of the Heat's young big man is now secure, Butler's future is a bit more up in the air. The 6-foot-7 Marquette product, who turns 35 ahead of the 2024-25 season, has apparently been angling for a maximum-salaried extension of his own. He holds a player option for 2025-26. Given the way team president Pat Riley has been treating him in the press, it's unclear exactly how Miami views Butler's long-term future with the franchise.
Adebayo and Butler have helped Miami overachieve often during their tenure together. But the team now just seems to be a tier below the class of the NBA, and could clearly use some major frontcourt help. The Heat possess the Nos. 15 and 43 selections in this year's NBA Draft — it will be fascinating to see how the club proceeds with those assets.
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