Getty Bam Adebayo #13 and Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat
Constant trade rumors have swirled around the Miami Heat as they seek another star to add to their core. The team has been involved in pitches to try to bring Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets and the Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell to South Beach. Miami’s trade packages have varied from involving Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro as centerpieces in trade discussions. So far, the Heat have been hesitant and haven’t included Adebayo in trade proposals, but one NBA insider speculated that that might change after recent reports about the Nets negotiations.
In a conversation with an Eastern Conference executive Sean Deveney was told that the Nets have teams where they want them in trade discussions which would be including Bam in proposals.
“The Nets have gotten them to the point they were trying to get them to, which is, ‘OK, do we include Bam (Adebayo) in one of these packages?’ The young players, Tyler Herro, the picks they have that is not going to get Durant. Adebayo will. When the stuff came out about Jaylen Brown, that was aimed at a team like Miami, letting them know they’ve got to add Bam, letting Phoenix know they’ve got to add (Devin) Booker. If the package is Bam and some of their bench pieces and three picks, the Nets might not do better than that,” the Eastern Conference executive said.
Heat beat writer for the Sun Sentinal, Ira Winderman, recently talked about the likelihood Miami could include Adebayo in discussions but had an encouraging development of the possibility of keeping their core.
Heat Could Move to Keep Their Core
In a mailbag column, Winderman was asked who he would choose between Herro or Adebayo in a potential deal, to which Winderman dangled the possibility of keeping both.
“It doesn’t matter whom I would pick. The Heat have made their preference clear in discussions, with Tyler Herro at least a talking point and Bam Adebayo kept off the table by at least one influential member of the organization. But there also well might not be a need for a choice, and the choice, as reiterated often in this space, could be as simple as keeping both and therefore having a core for the future beyond the Jimmy Butler-Kyle Lowry era,” Winderman wrote.
Kyle Lowry recently talked about what “derailed” his season last year and caused him to miss games. With Lowry playing more consistent games and another year in the Heat organization, he could play above last year’s ceiling. Herro and Adebayo are also expected to take steps forward in their development. If they did run it back with their core, they could challenge again for an NBA title.
Other Heat Targets
If the Heat were to run it back, they have been linked to other possible free agent picks that could add to their depth and help them improve from the previous years. Young point guard Collin Sexton has been named a target and could bring another scorer to South Beach. LaMarcus Aldridge is also a name that the Heat could target in free agency.
Whatever moves Pat Riley makes, whether it be a trade or adding pieces to their core, the Miami Heat will likely be in a good and competitive place.