Getty Bam Adebayo #13 and Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat.
This is not how things were supposed to go for the Miami Heat. Fresh off an Eastern Finals trip (the team’s second in three seasons), Miami entered the season with its usual sky-high expectations.
But injuries to key stars — Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Max Strus — have seen the Heat stumble out to an 11-14 record and largely kept them out of any serious playoff conversation. Something has to change, be it fresh blood, fresh ideas, or fresh faces. Fortunately, the calendar has flipped to early December, meaning trade season is officially upon us. The Miami Heat have been busy, with reports that the team is willing to move on from Duncan Robinson (good luck) and Kyle Lowry (seriously, good luck).
But according to Fox Sports’ Ric Bucher, the Heat have made one thing clear in negotiations: Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are off limits. Bucher likened the Heat’s situation to that of the Chicago Bulls, which have two untradeable stars of their own.
“The Heat and Bulls are in a similar predicament, laden with expensive rosters and high expectations and currently on course to miss the postseason. [Each team has] stars that league sources say they’ve deemed untouchable — Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo for the Heat, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan for the Bulls. . . .,” Bucher wrote on December 5.
It’s unsurprising that Butler and Adebayo are untradeable at this point. After all, Miami’s ability to make the playoffs hinges on the two stars.
Adebayo and Butler are an Electric Duo for the Heat
Just how important are Butler and Adebayo to the Heat? Without them, Miami is outscored by 8.9 points per 100 possessions, with a ghoulish 97.9 points scored per 100 possessions. In addition, Miami struggles to get to the charity stripe in these lineups, sporting a sub-25 percent free-throw rate that hovers around average.
But in lineups featuring both Adebayo and Butler, the Heat looks more like themselves. Those lineups are outscoring opponents by 8.3 points per 100 possessions, in the 89th percentile of all NBA lineups. The team’s rebounding and turnover rates are also both heavily improved by Butler and Adebayo-led lineups.
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It’s for that very reason that Butler and Adebayo are off-limits in trade discussions. Pat Riley & Co. recognizes that fact plainly. Even more so, Butler epitomizes the work ethic of #HeatCulture — the relentless, soul-driving force bent on winning.
Losing that doesn’t appear on any box score, but it’s unquestionably felt in the locker room. So breathe a deep sigh of relief Heat fans, for Butler isn’t going anywhere. But his grit and determination is something palpably missing from the lineup lately.
Heat’s Winning Mentality Missing This Season
In a mailbag on Wednesday, Heat beat reporter Ira Winderman noted just how absent the Heat’s winning mentality has been to the team so far.
“Heat identity typically has been about the will, drive and desire to overcome talent shortcomings. That has not been apparent not only on a regular basis this season, but on a possession-by-possession basis. The team that often talks about Hunger Games practices has not put together all that many actual hunger games, or even hunger sequences. And that is uncharacteristic, very uncharacteristic.”
Players who dont get enough recognition from the 2012 Miami Heat
Whether you think it’s a meme or not, the Heat’s culture has played no small part in seeing the franchise stay relevant for the better part of the century so far. Thankfully, the season is long, with plenty of opportunity for the Heat to revitalize itself in the playoff race.