MIAMI — It is time for the Miami Heat to consider dealing Bam Adebayo.
No, this is not about the naysayers more concerned about Adebayo’s contract or muted scoring impact. He has earned his fair share and he has offered ample offense in support of his accomplished defense.
In fact, at the moment it is less about Adebayo than about his team.
At the moment, they are not worthy.
What has made Adebayo one of the most unique contributors in the Heat’s 37 seasons, what has earned him each of his two maximum contract extensions, has been the ability to play in support, be it masking the defensive shortcomings of others or operating as a deferential fulcrum on offense.
Alongside Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler, it worked. NBA Finals in 2020.
Alongside Kyle Lowry and Butler, it worked. NBA Finals in 2023.
But when there isn’t enough to support, so much of Adebayo’s skill set becomes muted.
A year ago in Paris, Adebayo was the teammate of choice for Team USA on the way to Olympic gold. He complemented so many — who in turn complimented him — that many of those medalists have shared desire of wanting to play alongside again.
But now, with the Heat, there not only is not nearly enough alongside, there also is a different timeline than for a player selected in the first round in 2017.
As the Heat have struggled on the personnel market to recover from the forced exit of Butler, much recently has been made of Next Gen Heat.
Turning 28 in just over a week, Adebayo hardly is aging out. His latest extension hasn’t even kicked in.
But the players at the core at the Heat’s development program are lagging in regard to an Adebayo win-now timeline. Coach Erik Spoelstra spoke during his season wrap-up of prospects who still need to mature into playoff contributors, arguably still years away. Tyler Herro is 25, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is 24, Nikola Jovic is 22, Kel’el Ware is 21, Kasparas Jakucionis is 19. For all but Herro, still lessons to be learned.
And there is nothing wrong with a youth movement, even with as long as it has been since those words were part of the Heat vernacular.
But Adebayo not only will be earning $37 million this coming season, but then the jump to $51 million the following season. And it’s not as if most of the aforementioned kid stuff with the Heat is a year away. Ware, Jovic and Jaquez hardly looked that way in the playoffs. Jakucionis has yet to put on an NBA uniform for real.
Again, this is not about Adebayo’s hard-earned and well-deserved money.
It’s just about when it is being spent … amid a youth movement.
When it comes to player comps, at least in terms of complementary big men, the closest might be Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
Unlike with Adebayo, there rarely have been questions about dollars spent on Green, with his everything-but-scoring completeness, as he now, too, stands to move soon enough into the $50 million club.
The difference is the only dips in competitiveness for Golden State during Green’s tenure have been due to injuries of others. Not a retreat for youth to catch up, where the Heat appear headed.
Otherwise, it has been all-in for Golden State, as shown by this past season’s Warriors move for Butler. No gap years considered with a healthy Stephen Curry alongside, with Green therefore able to do what he does best with a team able to benefit by what he does best.
But the Heat do not have a Curry, do not have an All-NBA A-list talent to support, nor do they still have the annual hope of Playoff Jimmy for Adebayo to complement.
On a contender, Bam Adebayo also has proven to be invaluable.
At the moment, the 2025-26 Miami Heat look the farthest thing from contender, with questions about the timing of a turnaround with a roster suddenly skewing young, younger and youngest.
If the Heat move off Herro, the last vestige of consistent scoring would be gone from a team desperate for scoring, in a league where offense arguably never has been more important. That, alone, should make him a keeper, any extension not to kick in for two more seasons, more aligned with a Heat rebuild.
If the Heat move off Bam Adebayo, the defense will absorb a crushing blow, but that will come at a time when NBA offense has trumped NBA defense.
Bam Adebayo on a contender is a sight to behold.
Bam Adebayo during a gap year or even during a — dare we say it? — rebuild would be a unique skill set laid to waste.
Moving on from Adebayo certainly would be a jolt to the status quo. But it also could shake up the status woe.
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