Is Bam Adebayo extension also a Miami Heat debate point?
Q: Ira, there is so much being said about Jimmy Butler and an extension this summer, but no one is talking about what the Heat are about to do with Bam Adebayo. Three years at $165 million is a lot of scratch for a player who never will be your leading scorer. Why isn’t that being talked about like Jimmy’s extension? – Matthew.
A: Because at 26, Bam Adebayo basically is the Heat’s future, a player still on the rise, with all due respect to the work that Jimmy Butler puts in at 34. If you don’t show such a commitment to Bam, then you basically are questioning your team’s future. That said, the shame of NBA negotiations is that the maximum has come to be viewed as the only salary bar. The Heat certainly are not required to pony up all $165 million in a new deal for Bam. But it’s almost as if you are insulting the player if you come up short of the max. That’s where the system needs to be fixed. Certain players are better than others, just as certain players are better than Bam. But, still, it seemingly is max or bust when it comes to such negotiation. Then again, Bam could defer negotiations for a year to see if he can qualify for even more by reaching supermax criteria next season (Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA).
Q: Committing to pay $59 million to Jimmy Butler at age 37 in 2026-2027 seems ridiculous. Isn’t the simple answer that after next season, Jimmy either exercises his one-year Heat option or hits free agency and frees up lots of the Heat’s cap space? – Kevin, Palmetto Bay.
A: But it isn’t as simple as money out, money gained. There still will be the contracts of Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic, Jaine Jaquez Jr. and the upcoming first-round pick on the Heat’s book if Jimmy Butler opts out in the 2025 offseason. So it’s not as if Jimmy’s $52.4 million off the books opens anything close to that amount of cap space. So, as with all of this math, it comes down to whether the Heat would be willing to take a step back.
Q: The only way trading Jimmy Butler makes sense is if we could get significant draft capital for him and have a second deal worked out to trade those picks (plus whatever) for a top-level young star. But that’s such an unlikely proposition, even for a very talented Heat front office. – Daniel.
A: But even then, with so many teams flush with draft capital, from the Thunder to the Knicks, it’s not as if draft capital alone would assure the possibility of replacing Jimmy Butler with any level of equivalency.
