Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo won't serve as a middleman to help his team reel in Giannis Antetokounmpo in free agency, even if they have an agent in common. Antetokounmpo could potentially be up for grabs at the end of the 2020-21 season if he fails to sign a supermax extension and winds up hitting the market.
The Heat, among many other teams, are reportedly prepared to make a run at The Greek Freak, given the event he chooses to test free agency. Yet Adebayo won't be the one persuading him to make the move:
“At the end of the day, I can't force a man to make that decision,” said Adebayo, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “That's going to be his decision, his family's decision. I can't persuade him to do that.”
The Heat All-Star knows people are going to play up this angle regardless:
“I'm pretty sure people are going to run with that this summer and next summer,” Adebayo said of the common agent denominator. “In 2021, people are going to run with that.
“But, at the end of the day, he takes care of me like he takes care of Giannis. And that's just what you need in an agent. You want a guy that actually cares about everybody and not just some people who are doing better than others.”
The Heat youngster admits he has talked with Antetokounmpo, including during All-Star Weekend, but none of their conversations had anything to do with basketball:
“We spoke a lot during All-Star Weekend,” said Adebayo said. “We were around each other. We were on the same team. I got to speak with him a little bit.
“But it wasn’t because we got the same agent. It was nothing about basketball. It was about life.”
Antetokounmpo has given no indication that he's willing to leave the Milwaukee Bucks, so long as they keep treading the right way toward an NBA title. Should things change, the Heat could be in the market to poach him, but Adebayo won't be the bait to reel him to South Beach.
Follow Us
Subscribe