Playing for keeps with big deals

Perhaps the MiamiHeat are turning a corner when it comes to megacontracts resulting in extended stays.

To this stage, that has not always been the case since Pat Rileywas given the PIN to MickyArison’sATMupon Riley’s arrival in 1995.

The cash certainly has continued to flow, as evidenced byBam Adebayo’s franchise-record extension or even the megacontract JimmyButler received 16 months earlier. But with Goran Dragic making it to the end of his four-year contract and on to another, withButler as comfortable as at any of his fourNBA stops, there appears to be a renewed sense of stability that the largest ofHeat checks will continue to be cashed in South Florida.

In light ofAdebayo’s extension that kicks in next season, and with theHeat flush with substantial cap cash at the ready for the 2021 offseason, we reflect

KEVINC. COX/GETTY BamAdebayo cashed in with a big contract.