Ira Winderman: Time no longer on Adebayo’s side if goal is Heat supermax extension
MIAMI — The intent of the rule was straightforward — get players on the court as much as possible, particularly those in position to be viewed as the best of the best.
Because of that, Article XXIX, Section 6 of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement was added, the one titled, “Games Played Requirement for Certain League Honors.”
The upshot is that to be eligible for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, All-NBA Teams or NBA All-Defensive Teams, participation in at least 65 of the 82 regular-season games is required.
While there are a few exceptions where that 65-game requirement could be reduced, the guidelines largely are hard and fast.
Except … the rule about awards is not only about awards.
And that’s where it could be particularly interesting the balance of this season for the Miami Heat and center Bam Adebayo.
Because not only do the NBA’s awards come with spiffy trophies, and in the case for some players, significant contract bonuses, they also are used as guidelines for eligibility for supermax contract extensions and contract escalators.
Enter Adebayo, who is eligible this summer for a supermax extension — with Saturday’s absence against the Chicago Bulls meaning 10 games missed in the Heat’s first 26.
To be eligible for a supermax extension, Adebayo went into the season aware it would require being named first-, second- or third-team All-NBA or being named Defensive Player of the Year.
And therein lies the rub with the new, games-based eligibility requirements for awards.
This for Adebayo not only is about earning due he felt long has been overlooked, particularly contention for Defensive Player of the Year, but also the opportunity to sign a four-year, $254 million extension in July.
Because of the possibility of a supermax deal, Adebayo allowed an October deadline pass when he was otherwise eligible for a two-year, $97 million extension.
Winning one of the required honors will be difficult enough.
For the first time, the All-NBA teams for 2023-24 no longer will be position specific. So it no longer is a case of Adebayo making a case for himself as one of the league’s top three centers on a list perennially topped by Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid. Instead, Adebayo would have to make a case as one of the NBA’s Top 15 players, in a league that has become defined by perimeter play.
And when it comes to Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, whose Minnesota Timberwolves visit Kaseya Center on Monday night, already has created considerable traction as a decided frontrunner for the award he won in 2018, ’19 and ’21.
Added to those challenges is the challenge that Adebayo now also cannot afford to miss much in the way of additional time the balance of the season.
Even if he is ailing.
Even if he is hurting.
Even if exhausted.
And that’s where it gets tricky.
While the threshold for an award can be reduced to 62 appearances if a player is determined by NBA definition to have suffered a “season-ending injury,” that certainly is not a path of choice. And it’s not as if token appearances can be made while ill, ailing or fatigued, with appearances defined in most cases of at least 20 minutes of playing time (which also adds another layer to Adebayo’s predicament, having played only 12 minutes when pulled at halftime Dec. 2 against the Indiana Pacers).
So for Adebayo, playing through injury later this season could become a multimillion-dollar decision, should he perceive himself as being on track for All-NBA or Defensive Player of the Year.
By contrast, if the Heat are under the perception that another deep playoff run is in the cards, then protecting their center for the long run also has to be a consideration.
Written into the rules for award eligibility is a section for “Award Eligibility Grievances.” That provides protection for a player whose team might decide it prudent to sit out a player as a means of denying the required 65 appearances and having to pay out a supermax extension and “max” escalator on contracts already in place.
That assuredly won’t be a case with Adebayo and the Heat, who actually took themselves out of 2021 free agency with an early agreement with Adebayo on his current five-year, $163 million extension off his rookie-scale contract.
But the new rules regarding award eligibility, and how they are tied to the potential for a supermax contract, could create hard decisions going forward for both player and franchise.
IN THE LANE
DEVELOPMENTAL TOLL: All the Miami Heat did for Drew Peterson was position the undrafted 3-point shooter out of USC for the best possible opportunity for professional success, from featuring him on their summer-league team and preseason roster, to continuing their developmental work with him with their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. And for that effort, Peterson was poached this past week by the Boston Celtics on a two-way contract. Such is the reality of G League players who are not under NBA contract, available to be signed by any NBA team. In 13 games with the Skyforce, Peterson averaged 15.2 points, including .407 on 3-pointers, and 5.5 rebounds. The Heat’s decision on developmental shooting at the end of camp ultimately came down to Cole Swider on a two-way contract over Peterson. Swider, who had spent time with Peterson in Sioux Falls, said Peterson did all the right things to merit the look. “One thing I told the Heat guys was that when I was at Sioux Falls, his mind was totally clear,” Swider said of Peterson. “He was focused on the right things. And you could tell something was going to happen for him, how well he was playing. and how free his mind was.”
ROOKIE LESSON: For as much as Duncan Robinson drew unexpected plaudits by defending Charlotte Hornets No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller into a turnover when isolated on Wednesday night, Hornets coach Steve Clifford credited Heat forward Jimmy Butler with two nights of schooling against his rookie out of Alabama, Of Miller’s foul troubles this season, Clifford said, “He reaches a lot, which he knows. It’s just he’s got to be more cognizant of just the Jimmy Butler drive. If your hand is up there, he’s coming up through. That’s one of the things about playing in the league, is guys are older, they have tricks. Jimmy Butler would be at the top of that list. So, when you make a mistake, he’s going to take advantage of it.”
SEEKING MORE: From vital cog in playoff races the previous three seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks, Heat and Philadelphia 76ers, P.J. Tucker largely has gone to afterthought with the Los Angeles Clippers, after being dealt there from Philadelphia with James Harden just after the start of the season. “I feel like I still got a lot to contribute to a team to be able to win, whether that’s here or somewhere else,” Tucker told ClutchPoints. “I know myself, my worth. I know what I bring. I know what I’ve brought. I know what I can continue to bring. And with that, I want to be able to go to a good team that I can be able to help.” Tucker, 38, has this season at $11 million and a player option for next season at $11.5 million remaining on the contract he signed with the 76ers when he left the Heat in the 2022 offseason.
HOW SUSPENDED?: With Draymond Green on indefinite suspension by the NBA, the question for the Heat is how indefinite? The Heat play their first game of the season against the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 28 at Chase Center. That would be eight games since Green’s swing at Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic. Green has averaged 8.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 20 career games against the Heat.
NUMBER
4. Times Heat guard Kyle Lowry has made at least four 3-pointers in a game without a miss, including his 4 for 4 Wednesday against the Hornets. His career-best perfect game from beyond the arc is 6 of 6 with the Toronto Raptors against the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 28, 2016, which also was the last time he had made at least four 3-pointers without a miss, the other two occurrences coming in 2014 with the Raptors and 2012 with the Houston Rockets.