A key foundation to the Heat’s success, Adebayo could be in store for a massive pay-day depending on his performance and the amount of games he plays this season.
For Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo, this current season is arguably the most significant of his career based on how he plays and more so, how much he plays. What is on the line for the Miami big-man is a hefty contract extension worth up to $245 million for four years.
What does Adebayo have to do to be eligible for that contract? Well, there is a couple of steps he needs to do first. To start, he has to make an All-NBA team, different from being an All-Star. Second, he has to play in at least 65 games according to a new rule in the NBA where a contest is counted as playing in at least 20 minutes of action.
For Adebayo, he has already missed 10 whole games this season, but it is really 11 since he only played in 12 minutes when the Heat faced the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 30. In that game, he re-injured his hip which was an area that has been nagging him this season. So with six being the magical number, Adebayo said that the team and himself are aware of it and of the contract he could receive according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“You’re definitely aware of that because that’s generational wealth at the end of the day,” Adebayo said. “But we know the number, we know what it is and I know I’ve already missed 10 games. I got [six] left. But you handle those [six] with caution.”
Adebayo talks about the reasons he is “chasing” the supermax from Heat
Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo in front of the Kaseya Center.
If he doesn’t reach the criteria to get the supermax contract, Adebayo is still eligible to get a three-year contract worth $152 million. While Adebayo is focused on how he plays game by game, he acknowledges the stakes and the amount of money that is at play according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
“You can’t run from those type of numbers,” Adebayo said. “The money we make now is ridiculous. Coming from the background where I come from, where me and my mom made it out of a single-wide trailer in a rural area. You think about how many lives you can change. So it does play a part, it does matter, but that’s not the only reason why I’m chasing it.”
However, while the money is an exciting factor, Adebayo said he is “chasing” the honors of being an All-NBA player, an achievement he has never accomplished. He expressed that he wants the “respect” from his teammates and even the entire association,
“I’m [also] chasing it because I feel like I’m going to get to that point where people are going to be like, ‘It’s guaranteed it’s going to be All-NBA. [I’m] one of them,’” Adebayo said to ESPN. “It’s not mainly for the money, it’s mainly because [of] the respect of your peers and obviously the respect of everybody else.”
Adebayo said the motivation is he loves playing basketball than the money
So far on the season, Adebayo is averaging 22 points, 10.4 rebounds, and four assists per game. He talked about playing the game of basketball more so because he loves it compared to the main goal of obtaining a big contract.
“Obviously, the money is great, but I don’t like missing games anyway,” Adebayo said. “I love doing this. I know it’s a job. But for some guys in this league, it’s more than money because for a large portion of our lives, we were playing for free and that’s where you got the love for the game.”
There is no doubt that there is a lot of numbers that go into the contract extension, games played, and other aspects. For Adebayo on the other hand, he is not too worried about any of that as at the end of the day, the University of Kentucky product said it is “a joy to be with my teammates” on the Heat.
“I don’t get too caught up into the numbers and all that. I just know stuff will take care of itself. That will happen if I don’t miss games. So for me, man, it’s just great to be out here, a joy to be with my teammates. It’s fun basketball, especially when we’re playing the right way.”
Adebayo likes the new 65-game rule by the NBA
This 65-game rule is a new implement by the NBA in regards to contract extensions and especially in this case, the supermax contract. Adebayo expressed to the Miami Herald that he in fact likes the rule because it promotes competition even if players are a bit banged up.
“For guys to play because we’ve had situations where they feel like they don’t want to play in this league,” Adebayo said. “But for the sake of that, I like that we have a rule even though we shouldn’t have a rule for guys to get out here and hoop. Obviously, a lot of us think about it differently. But for me, I think it’s a good rule because you get the best competition every day and there is no taking nights off. You get some days where guys are just banged up, sore and they need one. It’s a long season. But I feel like around a 17-, 18-game [bufffer], that’s more than enough time.”
The buffer shrinking for Adebayo
The buffer for Adebayo is shrinking as he has six games left to miss before he is not eligible anymore to be considered for a big supermax contract extension. Miami as a whole has been dealing with constant injury problems besides the absence of Adebayo for 10 games.
For Adebayo, his goal is to stay healthy while keeping up his dynamic play as he has been exceptional on defense and has improved immensely on the offensive side of the ball. Even if he does play 65 games at the minimum, it is up to the NBA to decide whether the big-man deserves All-NBA status or not as he would be eligible if he got first, second, or third team.
In the meantime, the Heat are preparing for a Wednesday night matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:00 p.m. at the Crypto.com Arena. These two teams faced off before where Miami got a one-point win over the Lake Show and funny enough, Adebayo had a stellar performance with a triple-double as he had 22 points, a whopping 19 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Heat are 19-14 on the season which puts them at fourth in the Eastern Conference.
