Miami Heat
The Miami Heat did what very few people said they would do when they were able to get to the NBA Finals last season. The question in the offseason was what they were going to do with Bam Adebayo, who had a break out year in the 2019-20 NBA season.
Adebayo averaged 15.9 points, 5.1 assists, 1.3 blocks, 1.1 steals, and 10.2 rebounds per game on 56 percent shooting from the field. Those numbers were good enough for him to be selected to his first all-star game. He was due for a contract extension, but some reports said the Heat wouldn’t give it to him out of the fear they wouldn’t have enough money next summer to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo.
No one knows what Giannis will do next summer and Pat Riley didn’t want to gamble on him, thus the Heat ended up giving Adebayo a max contract extension for $163 million over five years. Although Miami lost forwards Jae Crowder and Derrick Jones Jr., they were able to sign undervalued forward Maurice Harkless and defensive stopper Avery Bradley.
Re-signing guard Goran Dragic who played as he did years ago for the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs, was a no-brainer. They were able to get more depth at the four and five by drafting Precious Achiuwa, a defensive player with great athleticism. Everyone is talking about the Brooklyn Nets, but the Heat have proven they aren’t afraid of anyone, and they will play hard for the full 48.
Grade: B