Bam Adebayo on NBA restart: ‘We’re the Miami Heat. I don’t think anybody is going to sit out.’
The Miami Heat is one of the 22 teams set to resume their 2019-20 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando. And Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo is one of the players who is worried about their safety in the Disney bubble.
Adebayo, who is eligible for a contract extension this upcoming offseason, was one of the young stars on a call Friday with National Basketball Players Association officials about the possibility of league-financed insurance policies to protect against career-threatening injuries stemming from the bubble restart plan.
“First and foremost, it’s all about safety,” Adebayo said during a Tuesday call with South Florida reporters. “So our conversation was basically that we want to be safe, going into Orlando, even though we took off [four] months. ... Our thing was, ‘Look, we’re all due for extensions and we want to make sure that going into this bubble, we are safe and we don’t get hurt. If we get hurt, we still have some backup. We’re going all out, and if we get hurt, we still got something in the back pocket, that insurance that we still get paid.’”
Adebayo, who turns 23 on July 18, was joined by Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum on the call, according to ESPN. As members of the 2017 NBA Draft Class, each of the five players are eligible for contracts extensions this upcoming offseason.
When asked about the state of their discussions with NBPA officials, Adebayo said executive director Michele Roberts “definitely gave us a good idea of she’s trying to negotiate it and trying to make this happen.” Adebayo added that Tatum was the catalyst behind the conversation.
Roberts told the Associated Press on Tuesday that she is optimistic there will be a decision that satisfies the players.
“Those are still ongoing discussions with the league, but there’s no question Bam and others in that situation are concerned about this,” Roberts said to the AP. “These are issues that are part of the world that we live in and ... these circumstances are unique; he hasn’t played in a while and we have this virus. So, because of the unique circumstances, we are working with the league to get Bam and other players assurances that they are going to be protected.”
What happens if Adebayo and others in the group don’t receive insurance before the resumption of the season?
“Uh, no insurance? I mean, that’s probably a conversion me, Donovan, Jayson Tatum, Fox and Kyle Kuzma are going to have,” Adebayo said. “But our ultimate goal is to play. So I don’t want nobody thinking like, ‘OK, if they don’t get their insurance, they’re not playing.’ We want to play. That’s the whole point of it. We want to play and give our teams the best chance of winning a championship. But, at the end of the day, we’re also thinking about our families and our lives and how they could change if we could get hurt.”
Adebayo again made it clear later in the conversation that he intends to play when the season resumes, but he simply hopes the league allows players to protect their financial futures in this unique situation.
There’s concern around the league there will be an increased risk of injury for players restarting their seasons at a fanless quarantine-type environment at Disney following a four-month hiatus from game action. The NBA’s comeback plan calls for 22 teams to arrive at the Central Florida complex starting on July 7 and training camps in the bubble will run from July 9-29, with the season restarting on July 30 and ending in October.
“You got to build your body for playing,” Adebayo said of getting back into basketball shape. “We haven’t played against anybody. So you got to build your body for playing against somebody, which they’re saying we can’t play against somebody until we get in Orlando. There are a lot of moving parts to it. But it’s going to be hard for us to have four weeks of [practice] and try to go straight into playoffs. I hope nobody gets injured, but I think a lot of people will be injured because of the whole [four] months being off and pretty much trying to speed it up and then you play eight games and go straight to the playoffs.”
Adebayo will earn $5.1 million in the final year of his rookie-scale contract in 2020-21 before he can become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2021 unless an extension with the Heat is signed this upcoming offseason. Adebayo is eligible to sign an extension worth more than $100 million.
But even though Adebayo is certainly worthy of a contract extension and the Heat wants to keep him long-term as one of the centerpieces of its roster, there’s reason to believe Miami’s front office could decide to bypass an extension offer.
With the way the Heat’s roster is currently constructed, the only way it can enter the 2021 offseason with enough cap space to sign a max-level free agent is to skip Adebayo’s extension and instead have him become a restricted free agent in the 2021 offseason.
Unless a superstar becomes available via trade during the next year, the Heat looks at the 2021 free agent class that includes reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo as an opportunity to potentially add to its All-Star core of Jimmy Butler and Adebayo.
There would be a bit of risk for Adebayo in not signing an extension this offseason: Any player is in jeopardy of sustaining a career-altering injury at any point and Adebayo might prefer the security of an extension instead of going into the final year of a deal next season during an uncertain time for the NBA’s finances.
ADEBAYO ON NBA’S RESTART PLAN
But injury risk isn’t the only concern players have with the NBA’s Disney restart plan.
A faction of players are pushing back against the NBA’s plan because of various issues, including the fact that some believe games will distract from the Black Lives Matter movement. Other players believe the NBA platform at Disney will help amplify their voices on social justice issues.
“It can go both ways. I’m the dude that’s on the fence,” Adebayo said. “I understand that we want to be in the middle of protests with our bodies and we want people to know that we’re there supporting Black Lives Matter, which I’m 100 percent about. And I’m 100 percent about going to the bubble and doing it on national television where everybody sees it. So it’s really a touchy situation. ... My personal opinion, I feel like whatever is calling upon you to do, I feel like you should do that.”
One of the other big issues players have with the current plan: Family and guests of teams will have to wait until Aug. 30 to enter the bubble, when there is enough room for them after teams eliminated from the playoffs have left. That means players, coaches and staff will have to be without family for nearly two months.
Participants will also have to adhere to strict health and safety protocols while in the Disney bubble, including a reported rule that would force players who exit the bubble to quarantine for at least 10 days upon reentry. The risk of contracting COVID-19 is another concern.
The NBA will allow players to opt out of the bubble plan and they will not be penalized for staying home, but those players will not be paid for missed games. Players who choose to opt out of the remainder of the season must notify their team by June 24, according to The Athletic.
There has not been significant pushback from the 17 players on the Heat’s roster on returning to complete the season, according to league sources, with most players already indicating they want to play when games resume at Disney. But there are some on the roster who are waiting for details and health protocols surrounding the NBA’s plan to be finalized before they make a final decision.
“We’re the Miami Heat. I don’t think anybody is going to sit out,” Adebayo said. “I think we’re built for situations like this because we work so hard and we push our bodies to be the best. But I don’t think anybody is going into this like, ‘I don’t want to play.’ Because we don’t have a lot of guys that can literally sit out, if you know what I mean. We don’t have a lot of guys like that. And all our mentals aren’t build like that. Nobody’s mentality is like, ‘Oh, I’m going to sit out just because we’ve been out for four or five months.’”
Before the NBA suspended play on March 11, Adebayo was in the middle of a breakout season. In his third NBA season and his first as a full-time starter, Adebayo is averaging career highs in points (16.2), rebounds (10.5), assists (5.1), steals (1.2), blocks (1.3) and minutes (34.4) on his way to earning his first All-Star Game appearance.
Adebayo and Antetokounmpo are the only two players in the league averaging at least 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block this season.
“I think, look, the biggest thing we’re going to have to get over is playing with no fans,” Adebayo said of the NBA’s return plan. “I think that’s the biggest thing. But I feel like once we actually get to playing games, I think we’ll all start to forget about we don’t fans. So it’ll feel like an AAU tournament.”
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 6:08 PM.
