The Miami Heat saw center Bam Adebayo have a disagreement with Tyler Herro. Adebayo allegedly punched Herro at a Summer League game. It was a dust-up that had the entire NBA talking. The NBA did say that they were not going to punish anyone for it.
Herro was traded to the Bucks as part of the package that Miami sent to Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Adebayo clearly did not like something that Herro said about Adebayo on social media. However, they now play for separate teams and will only see each other when the two teams square off.
Heat president Pat Riley was recently asked about the incident between the two former teammates. Riley had a somewhat surprising take on the situation.
GettyMiami Heat guard Tyler Herro drives the ball in a game. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Heat’s Pat Riley Has Interesting Take on Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro Fight
When he was on the Dan LeBatard Show, Riley had an interesting take on the dust-up.
“Both of them are very competitive men. I was sorry to see it happened, and I was even more sorry to see what happened with Bam. It was over with, that’s it, and they’ll carry on. The league’s not going to do anything about it, and somewhere they’ll patch up.”
When asked why he was more sorry that it happened to Bam, Riley revealed that he was more concerned about the fact that Adebayo wanted to take a shot at Herro in the first place.
“Conflicts, passions, things that are said today, and players are addicted to social media, and when you start going on X and start responding to somebody who’s criticizing you in some way or however it happened, things can happen. And that’s the world that we live in.”
Now that the incident is over, both players are looking to move forward. Riley wants the Heat to move on and worry more about rounding out the roster. Adebayo has shown no interest in talking about it, so he is clearly trying to move on, as well.
GettyMiami Heat center Bam Adebayo attends a basketball game. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Miami is Trying to Add a Superstar to the Roster
Riley is now more focused on seeing if he can land LeBron James as a free agent. James has been deciding where he wants to play for the last few weeks, and he still has not decided. However, Riley believes that Miami has a good chance to sign him.
Adding James would be the last piece to the starting lineup. He would be the starting small forward next to Giannis Antetokounmpo. After trading for Antetokounmpo, a lot of Miami’s depth is now gone. Bringing James in on a cheap deal would be a really big help to them.
If James doesn’t sign with the Heat, it would certainly lessen their chances of competing at the highest level in the Eastern Conference. Miami is going to make sure that they fill out the roster as best they can.
Heat President Gives Somewhat Surprising Take on Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro Fight