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The Miami Heat are planning on signing All-Star C Bam Adebayo to a five-year, $163 million contract extension, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday afternoon. Adebayo is coming off his rookie deal and is eligible to sign the rookie maximum contract of $163 million with the potential to work up to a super max deal of $195.6 million, per Shams.
Adebayo is eligible for a rookie maximum contract -- $163M with trigger for $195.6M -- and Miami plans to sign him to the new deal, source says. https://t.co/4UCqLdLKLx
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 24, 2020
Adebayo is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged a double-double of 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds. He also developed into one of the best passing big men in the NBA, averaging 5.1 assists per game. As a result, the Heat were able to make it back to the postseason, going on that memorable run to the NBA Finals in the bubble in 2020. Adebayo was a big reason why Miami was able to shock the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round, providing great post defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo. Adebayo should be a staple in Miami with Jimmy Butler for the foreseeable future.
Adebayo is just one of many All-Stars signing max deals off their rookie contracts. We’ve already seen Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum do the same thing with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics, respectively. With how contracts are set up once the rookie deal is up, there’s almost no incentive for All-Star caliber players to test the restricted free agent market. They leave too much money on the table by not being able to sign for five years at the max.