It is no secret that the Miami Heat have every intention of joining the race to sign Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo should the back-to-back MVP opt to enter free agency in 2021. What the Heat need to be way of, however, is how this “all-in” pursuit might have an adverse effect on the future of All-Star big man Bam Adebayo.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Heat run the risk of losing Adebayo if they focus too much on the Giannis chase:
Rival teams are monitoring Adebayo’s extension situation and the aftereffects if Miami bypasses extending their superstar big man. Miami is preparing to go all in on the pursuit of Milwaukee’s two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021 free agency, sources said. There is a school of thought that salary-wise, waiting on Adebayo’s extension would allow for as much space as possible for 2021. But given Adebayo’s presence, leadership and meaning to the Heat franchise, this is a straight-forward conversation between team executives and Adebayo’s agent, Alex Saratsis: A max extension this offseason or not.
Adebayo has two more years remaining on his current deal, which is set to expire in the summer of 2021. This coincides with Antetokounmpo's potential free agency. What Shams is implying here is that the Heat might opt not to offer Adebayo the max extension he's proven to be deserving of this offseason in order to free up as much cap room as possible to sign Giannis to a massive deal next summer.
While this move makes sense financially, it does seem to be too significant of a risk. Bam Adebayo has established himself as the Heat's superstar of the future, so you would think that he should take precedence over a 50-50 chance (or less) of signing Giannis Antetokounmpo a year from now.
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