The Miami Heat are all about winning championships and having gone almost a decade without one, they are desperate to get their hands on that Larry O’Brien trophy once again. So, when Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets and named the Heat as one of his preferred destinations, rumors started to swirl on potential trade packages.
While Jimmy Butler was always going to be off-limits, the Heat were also unwilling to include Bam Adebayo in any package, which speaks to how highly they value him. Adebayo was recently asked about the team’s unwillingness to part with him, and he said it was down to the belief they had in him to deliver a championship to the city.
Via Miami Herald:
“It’s the faith they got in me. I feel like they know what they have. You get a guy who’s hard-nosed, who’s going to get it out the mud, who’s not going to quit on his teammates. It’s just mutual respect. I feel like a lot of teams want me, but it’s just a respect thing. Also, it’s Pat [Riley] believing in me, it’s Micky [Arison] believing in me, it’s Andy [Elisburg] believing in me that we can make that next step to bring this city another championship.”
The Heat have gone close to getting the job done recently, losing in the NBA Finals in 2020, and they were a game away from getting there once again this past postseason, as the Celtics beat them in 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals. They feel that with some upgrades, they can win their first title since 2013, but giving up Bam in the process would end up hurting them.
We are looking at a Defensive Player of the Year candidate who averaged over 19 points per game last season, and those guys don’t grow on trees. Bam also expressed his desire to stay with the Heat for his entire career, and it seems like the perfect marriage between team and player. For their sake, we hope it stays that way.
