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NBA Free Agency 2020: Latest Buzz on Bam Adebayo, Malik Beasley's Future
May 2, 2020
No matter what happens regarding the 2019-20 NBA season, the 60-plus games of the campaign brought with them a definite fact about Bam Adebayo and his future.
He's going to get paid.
While Jimmy Butler's arrival helped to make the Miami Heat Eastern Conference contenders, the third-year forward turned in a breakout year. Adebayo became a fixture in the starting lineup, averaging 16.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals for the Heat.
According to Basketball Reference, only eight players in NBA history have recorded a 16/10/5/1/1 line in a single season.
Adebayo is 22. So, yeah—he'll be expensive to re-sign.
Fortunately for the Heat, Adebayo is of the mindset he would like to stay in Miami throughout his NBA career.
"Right now, my mindset is yes because I can't dictate the future," Adebayo said during an Instagram Live interview with Ashley Nicole of iHeartRadio (h/t Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald). "If I could, I would like to stay here like [Udonis Haslem]."
Adebayo, though, also recognized the uncertainty of the situation:
"But you never know what happens in the future. Everybody just knew [Dwyane] Wade was a lifer until he left because of situational reasons. You never know. But for me, I feel like I am. I feel like I would want to be a part of [one] organization like UD did just because I look up to UD."
Adebayo will be a restricted free agent following the 2020-21 season. Though the dates may change because of this year's unique circumstances, he will be eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension from July to October.
Whether it's during that window or in restricted free agency next summer, Miami—which is steadily recovering from a once-disastrous cap sheet—will make re-signing Adebayo a top priority.
But as the Heat have time to address that situation, the Minnesota Timberwolves are nearing a decision on Malik Beasley.
Acquired from the Denver Nuggets in a February four-way trade, Beasley began putting up remarkable numbers. In 14 appearances with Minnesota, the shooting guard poured in 20.7 points per game while shooting 42.6 percent from three.
Last season, he tallied a career-high 11.3 points per game on the Nuggets. The full-time starting role alongside Karl-Anthony Towns suited Beasley quite nicely, it appears.
And the organization is expected to pursue a new contract.
"The Wolves traded for him with the idea being he would be here for a while," Chris Hine of the Star Tribune said. "Beasley is a restricted free agent, meaning the Wolves can match any offer that comes in. They also own Beasley's Bird rights, which means they can exceed the salary cap to sign him."
Plus, Hine noted that before the season stopped in mid-March, Beasley "didn't sound anxious to leave."
The 23-year-old will have earned approximately $7.7 million during his first four NBA seasons. But after torching the nets for a month with Minnesota, he is headed for a substantial raise.
Though it's not certain, the signs are pointing toward the Wolves providing that paycheck for Beasley.
Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR