The Miami Heat are still trying to navigate Jimmy Butler’s tumultuous situation, but he’s no longer the hottest name on the trade market. Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, who’s in the fourth year of a five-year, $163 million deal, is. Though the most likely outcome is that Fox ends up in San Antonio, his preferred destination.
Fox is a former college teammate of current Heat big Bam Adebayo, who he has a very good relationship with. Adebayo was recently asked about his recruiting pitch to other players–and there’s zero beating around the bush.
“The thing is I’m telling you the whole truth. It’s not a recruiting pitch to me,” he said, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I’m telling you the truth. You’re going to get here, you know what it is. There is no BS, there is no, ‘I’m going to get my numbers.’ No, no, no. This is team basketball here. We’re going to play both sides of the basketball. So that’s 82 games, plus playoffs. I’m not sugarcoating anything. You make your decision from there.
“To me, if I consider you like family like De’Aaron, I’m not going to lie to you. You’re getting a coach that’s not going to let you go below your standard and sometimes that does get annoying. Sometimes that does rub you the wrong way. But it’s a coach that expects more out of you because he sees something. When you have a coach like that, you can’t take that for granted. There have been many coaches in some organizations that they’re there for a season. How are you supposed to bank equity with a coach who’s only there for a season, two seasons? You can’t really hone in and become something when it’s like that. For us, we got a coach that’s going to be here for a very long time that really cares about winning, but also cares about us.”
The Heat haven’t landed a big-time free agent since Kyle Lowry, who agreed to a three-year, $87 million deal ahead of the 2021-22 season. That was more Butler than Adebayo, however, as Butler and Lowry were close friends.
It’s worth appreciating how Adebayo isn’t afraid to tell other players like it is so they know what they’re walking into. Sure, most “recruiting pitches” involve plenty of sunshine pumping and telling you only about the good stuff; it’s a sales pitch. You don’t oftentimes hear the bad in the sales pitch.
But I would rather the captain tell me the truth–from the good, bad and ugly. That’s the sign of a very good captain. If you tell me how it is before we talk into the trenches, the same will be the case once we’re in it together.
Zero organization is perfect, but the Heat has been one of the most successful franchises since the turn of the century, barring none. They’ve had unheard-of organizational stability for the last 30 years and it’s held to three titles and seven Eastern Conference Titles, even though they haven’t climbed over the mountain top in over a decade.
Players talk. Adebayo has a strong rapport around the NBA. And given his status, players who ask about the vaunted #HEATCulture™ are going to listen, for better or worse. Don’t expect him to sugarcoat, however.
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This is what I posted about yesterday regarding Jimmy and how everyone is missing the teams angle instead of just siding with Pat or Jimmy.
Rachel Nichols on Jimmy Butler: ‘Instead, not only has it been such a problem for management. I’ve talked to guys in that locker room, and to say they have had it is an understatement because he has disrespected them so much. The way he’s been in and out, ‘oh last minute, not playing’, the way he’s been acting towards in their locker room, I mean staff and other people like that, and then the stunt with them making them wait for hours on the tarmac even to show up? I haven’t spoken with Bam Adebayo about this so I am speculating, I want to make this clear, but if you’re Bam Adebayo, who is of this level of a player that he is, and some guy on your team who isn’t even contributing right now makes you wait for hours on the tarmac, how do you feel about that?’
……….how do you feel about that?
This is as boring a question as it can get.
I will be VERY angry …..not at Jimmy but at personnel management…..if they did not sense it coming.. it is sheer incompetence and there is no excuse for it. A guy tells you he is happy off court than he is on court..please what else do you want.
Jimmy has a contract like every other guy on the team. Why can they still practice, play, and show up with the rest of the team but he can’t?
And travel and sleep
Ask any NBA player or coach what are the biggest challenge in any NBA game. They will tell you that it is any away game.Surprisingly, it is not a back to back as most fans think. A guy who tells that he is not happy playing on the team any more, how can he find motivation playing in an away game. The bitter truth is that if he travels and plays a lackluster game, the same fans will not hesitate to call him out.
‘cos the other guys are happy playing and he is not.He said so and that does not make him insane RATHER the people who question him and want to force him to do otherwise are the ones that need to be questioned.
That is my man. Tell it as you see it. Come, take what you see and work.
I will add:
If you think the Heat have enough to get there, you are welcome.
If you think the Heat do not have enough and this is a process in the making and you can be part of the process no matter how long it will take , you are welcome.
If you think there are so many missing parts and you do not want to be part of that time consuming grueling 50-50 proposition, look else where.
Fox is paying 14.4% California state income tax by playing in Sacramento. If he played for Miami, his state income tax would be $0. So there’s that.
If he played here in Slovenia, it would be around 30%
Is that overall tax or just state? Because, the feds take a big bite here too, maybe 30% more, and that’s with a good accountant.
is that where u got your name?
No, from a Neil Roger’s clip, but that’s a good one.
neil gd the best ever in radio?
Actually I don’t know exactly. We pay several taxes.
I m paying 25 % from my business profit directly, and then probably not much less than another 25 % a citizen. But, of course, you can cut those taxes if you children, low salaries etc.. Overall, I would say, that here in Slovenia we need to pay about 30-50 % from your earnings for taxes. It should be the same for players playing basketball here.
I m not against it, somebody should pay for free healthcare, free school, free study…. Its a bit different in US then here in Europe, as far I know.
I hear Slovenia is beautiful and worth visiting
You hear it right.
One of the best places to live.
State separate from federal, sales, property, business, etc.
gms like u and pat dont have the leverage u use to have.decisions are based on $$ friends winning culture.u go bam get us your brother and let pat take the credit