Bam Adebayo

Southeast Notes: Heat, Howard, Sarr, Carrington

May 20th, 2025 at 5:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat must be aggressive this offseason and willing to remain in luxury tax territory to improve the roster, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. If Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant and/or Zion Williamson become available at the right price, the Heat should pursue those opportunities, according to Jackson, who says that includes looking into the possibility of making a deal with the Celtics, who are facing a prohibitive tax bill next season.

The Heat should also gauge the Hornets‘ interest in removing protections on the 2027 first-round pick the Heat owe them for the Terry Rozier deal, perhaps by offering an unprotected 2032 pick with added incentives, Jackson says. That would allow Miami to offer up to four first-round picks instead of three in a deal for a star.

What the Heat need to stop doing, in Jackson’s view, is overvaluing their assets. While they shouldn’t be shopped outright, Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro shouldn’t be off the table in a blockbuster deal if it helps the team acquire an even more talented player, Jackson contends.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat should seriously consider moving the No. 20 pick in this year’s draft, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. The pick they owe the Hornets currently puts them under restrictions from trading some of their future first-rounders. If they deal the No. 20 pick for any first-round pick in 2027, it could open multiple first-round picks for trades in the coming years, Winderman notes.
Jett Howard got more opportunities in his second season with the Magic but didn’t take advantage of them, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes. He appeared in 60 games but averaged just 4.5 points in 11.7 minutes per game. Howard remains confident he can be an impact player with more playing time. “I can shoot the ball at a pretty high level,” he said. “Getting used to doing that out there … It’s hard being called in sometimes and not other times, but that’s just with anything [as] a young guy trying to get into the league, trying to get navigate through that and get some comfortability with that.”
As we relayed earlier today, Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington earned All-Rookie honors. How rare is that for the Wizards franchise? They are the first Washington players to make an All-Rookie team since Rui Hachimura was a second-team pick in 2019/20, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post notes. The only other time the franchise had two selections was when Rod Thorn and Gus Johnson earned the honor in 1963/64 for the Baltimore Bullets.

And-Ones: Wright, Rookie Extensions, All-Interview Team, More

May 10th, 2025 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Colorado guard McKinley Wright IV, who appeared in 32 NBA regular season games for Minnesota and Dallas from 2021-23, has been named the Most Valuable Player for the ABA League (formerly known as the Adriatic League) in Europe.

Wright has spent the last two seasons playing for KK Buducnost and led the Montenegrin team to a 26-4 record and a No. 1 seed in ABA competition this season. The 26-year-old, known as a solid perimeter defender, averaged team bests of 12.8 points and 4.9 assists in 22.5 minutes per game, with an excellent shooting line of .545/.370/.848.

Wright now has the honor of sharing a career accomplishment with future Hall of Famer Nikola Jokic, who was named the MVP of the ABA League in 2014/15, his age-20 season, when he played for Mega Basket in Serbia.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report considers the likelihood of a new deal for each of the 22 players eligible for rookie scale extensions this offseason. Pincus forecasts maximum-salary extensions for Magic forward Paolo Banchero and Thunder teammates Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, while predicting that Pistons big man Jalen Duren (four years, $112MM) will get the fourth-most lucrative deal among that group, ahead of Hawks guard Dyson Daniels and Nuggets guard Christian Braun (four years, $94MM each).
The Professional Basketball Writers Association officially named its first and second “All-Interview” teams for the 2024/25 season this week, recognizing the players who are “consistently thoughtful, insightful and engaging with the media.” As the PBWA details in a press release, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell, and Draymond Green made the first team, with Tyrese Haliburton, Mike Conley, Bam Adebayo, Josh Hart, and Damian Lillard making up the second team.
Amid reports that Shaquille O’Neal will be part of a new ownership group taking control of Napoli Basket, the Italian team issued a statement shooting down those rumors and referring to them as unfounded.
2025 has been the year of the NBA playoff comeback so far. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press and Jeff Zillgitt and Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today take a closer look at how teams keep coming back from deficits of 20 or more points this spring.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Spoelstra, Offseason, Jovic

May 7th, 2025 at 11:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Despite a brutal first round playoff sweep at the hands of the Cavaliers, Heat big man Bam Adebayo is proud of how Miami handled a fraught 2024/25 season, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

“This organization and this team could have let go of the rope a long time ago, going through what we went through this season,” Adebayo said. “A lot of people would have just chalked it up and gone like, ‘You know what, we’re just going to start over.’ That’s one thing I love about this organization is that we’re always trying to win no matter what, no matter what situation we’re in… We went through two play-in games on the road trying to just get to the dance. So I would say it’s been an up and down road and we’ve figured out how hard it is to win.”

All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler‘s trade demand led to an uneven season start, and his eventual jettisoning to Golden State essentially killed the club’s chances of making a deep playoff run. The 37-45 Heat’s post-Butler era included a 10-game losing streak and a six-game winning streak, en route to a resilient postseason berth.

There’s more out of Miami:

With Gregg Popovich officially stepping down from his head coaching role in San Antonio, 17-year Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has become the league’s longest-tenured active coach with the same team. Spoelstra still has his eye on the franchise’s future, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We’re going to put our head down and keep on working until we get the result that we expect and that our city expects,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s the biggest motivating factor right now.” Last year, Spoelstra signed an eight-year extension reportedly worth over $120MM. Clearly, he isn’t planning on hanging it up any time soon.
In a reader mailbag, Winderman explains why it could prove difficult for the Heat to trade their way into maximizing their future draft pick equity. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald outlines what kinds of moves the team should look to make to improve its long-term outlook — and what moves Miami should avoid making at all costs. Jackson notes that swingman Andrew Wiggins could serve as a useful trade chip in acquiring a frustrated All-Star from a rival team, should one become available. In another Miami Herald story, Chiang takes a look at the Heat’s entire roster heading into the offseason, examining each player’s potential fate.
Following a turbulent individual season, 21-year-old Heat forward Nikola Jovic is hoping to make major developmental strides over the summer, writes Winderman for the Sun Sentinel. “I have a solid three months to work on something,” Jovic said. “What that something will be, I don’t know yet. But I feel like this might be the first summer that I actually have some time to improve my game.” Injuries played a part in his struggles. He sat out almost a month early into the season due to a left ankle sprain. Upon recuperating, Jovic became a Spoelstra rotation regular — for a time. He broke his right hand in late February, and only reappeared, sparingly, in the playoffs.“I think since the new year and then before my injury, I felt like I was pretty consistent and I kind of found my role coming off the bench and doing some things… and the injury kind of pulled me back down.”

Heat Notes: Butler, Herro, Adebayo, Love, Jovic, Larsson

April 30th, 2025 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Head coach Erik Spoelstra admitted Wednesday that the months-long drama involving Jimmy Butler brought “turbulent waters” to the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler was a distraction during the first half of the season, becoming unhappy when the team was unwilling to give him a contract extension and team president Pat Riley challenged him to be available for more regular season games. Butler publicly feuded with management and was suspended three times before being sent to Golden State shortly before the trade deadline.

Speaking at today’s exit interviews, Tyler Herro said the Butler situation was a distraction in the locker room.

“I think it was just the overall wondering when is it going to end,” Herro said. “That was kind of the main thing of when can we just focus on basketball? That’s what this profession is, it’s basketball. That’s what we’re here to do and that’s what we all get paid to do is play basketball. At the end of the day, that’s what we wanted to worry about.”

The Heat’s season didn’t get better after Butler was gone, as they posted a 12-21 record following the trade and suffered through a 10-game losing streak in March. They were able to win eight of their last 12 regular season games and made history by becoming the first 10th seed to advance through the play-in tournament, but the season crashed to an end with a first-round sweep by Cleveland and 37- and 53-point losses in their two home playoff games.

“When I say it’s a memorable season, the memories will be like the last four weeks,” Spoelstra said. “The rest of the season was a grind. But we finally started to turn the corner even during the losing streak and you felt momentum, you felt progress, you felt like everybody was coming together and it led to two play-in games. … All the other adversities, it made me better. I’ve never been in a situation like that, to try to keep a locker room together and to try to handle it during those weeks. But then also to fully change course stylistically in how to play and what to emphasize at the All-Star break. That was an invigorating challenge.”

There’s more from Miami:

Bam Adebayo talked about the need for changes after Game 4, but he declined to get into specifics while speaking with reporters today, Chiang and Barry Jackson add in a separate story. “That’s more of a Pat Riley question,” Adebayo said. “I hope you can ask that question to him and he doesn’t blow you off. He knows how much I want to win. We want to be in the best way possible to do that. After he talks to you, he will probably talk to me and we will figure out what happens.”
Kevin Love confirms that he intends to continue playing next season, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). The 36-year-old big man, who has one year left on his contract at $4.15MM, missed 22 games this year while caring for his ailing father, former NBA player Stan Love, who passed away over the weekend.
Nikola Jovic will represent Serbia and Pelle Larsson will play for Sweden at this summer’s EuroBasket (Twitter links from Reynolds).

Heat Notes: Sweep, Draft, Free Agents, Grades, Offseason Outlook

April 29th, 2025 at 8:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat got a serious dose of reality in the playoffs, getting swept by Cleveland in the opening round and losing Game 4 by 55 points, which coach Erik Spoelstra described as a humbling experience.

“These last two games were embarrassing, but Cleveland is also a very good team,” he said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “We won whatever we won, they won 64 games. We’re as irrational as we usually are, thinking that we have a chance to win this series and they showed us why we weren’t ready for that.”

Changes are coming for a team that had to fight out of the play-in tournament just to get the last playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

“As an organization, yeah, we’re going to look at this and say this is unacceptable,” Spoelstra said. “We got to get to another level.”

We have more on the Heat:

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details the draft assets the Heat have and the free agent decisions they must make this summer. Miami possesses the No. 20 pick, courtesy of the Jimmy Butler trade, but Oklahoma City will get their pick at No. 15. Other than the No. 20 pick, the Heat can only use their 2030 first-rounder in a trade before or during the draft. The team will likely issue Davion Mitchell a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent but that doesn’t necessarily mean the front office would match any offer sheet. The Heat also have to figure out what to do with Duncan Robinson‘s partially guaranteed contract.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel handed out his regular season and postseason grades for each player, with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Mitchell at the top of the class and Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Terry Rozier drawing a D-minus and F, respectively, for the regular season, and matching F’s for the playoffs.
Patience must be exercised as the Heat look for ways to improve, ESPN Insider Bobby Marks opines in his offseason outlook. They have some expiring contracts to dangle and could have much more flexibility to chase free agents in the 2026 offseason if they’re prudent. HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks also takes an extensive look at the Heat’s offseason, including the contract situation for each player on the roster.

Heat Notes: Jaquez, Elimination, Herro, Adebayo, Anderson

April 28th, 2025 at 5:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jaime Jaquez Jr.‘s second NBA season hasn’t gone as smoothly as his rookie campaign. Jaquez has been out of the Heat‘s rotation in their playoff series against Cleveland after getting steady playing time last season.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating as a competitor,” Jaquez told Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “As a player, you want to be in the game playing. But seasons come with ups and downs. I think more than anything, you take it as a learning experience. It will help you grow as a player and as a person to go through adversity like this. If you make it out to the other side, then you’re going to see what you become.”

Jaquez averaged 8.6 points per game this season on a lower shooting percentage than last season, when he averaged 11.9 PPG and made 48.9 percent of his attempts.

“There’s going to be struggles throughout your career,” he said. “You don’t want to shy away from those. Obviously, there have been a lot of ups and downs with some bad luck with some illnesses and then obviously getting hurt. But I think it’s given me a great opportunity to just learn, learn a lot about myself and about the game and take this time to just continue to work on my craft, work on my routine and continue to get better as a professional.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

They’re facing elimination tonight and staring at a 3-0 deficit in the series. NBA teams are 0-158 in playoff series after falling behind 3-0, Chiang notes. “This is our reality right now. But like I told the guys, it’s not time to let go of the rope,” guard Tyler Herro said. “We’re going to play until the final buzzer, whether that’s next game, Game 5, 6, 7 or another series after this. We just got to keep playing. That’s what we’re paid to do and that’s who we are as an organization. We want to compete and we’re not going out 4-0.”
Herro pumped in 33 points in Game 2 but was held to 13 points in Game 3, as the Cavaliers limited him to a series-low 46 touches, according to Chiang. “I’m coming off and they’re not allowing me to get any handoffs or coming off pindowns or anything like that,” he said. “Just pretty much face-guarding me and guiding me into the corner.” Herro and his teammates will have to find counters for that strategy if they want to extend the series.
Bam Adebayo has become more comfortable attempting three-pointers this season and that’s reflected in the volume of his long-range shots through the first three playoff games. He has taken 17 and made six. “He has good balance about it, of being rugged and aggressive at the rim and in the pant, because we need that as well … he’s a very good shooter,” coach Erik Spoelstra told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Kyle Anderson was added to the injury report for Monday’s game due to an illness, Chiang tweets. However, he is available, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. Anderson has only seen the floor for six minutes during the series.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Wizards, Magic, Play-In, Nance

April 14th, 2025 at 5:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There are a lot of moves the Heat, who face the Bulls in the play-in tournament on Wednesday, need to make to become true contenders again, says Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Not only do the Heat need to add an elite scorer, Jackson writes, they also need an elite shot creator and a better floor leader to prevent the late-game slides that plagued the team this season. However, the pairing of Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware worked well and should be the team’s power duo going forward, according to Jackson, who adds that they also have a solid second unit to bring back next season.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Wizards general manager Will Dawkins was pleased with the growth of his young players this season but knows they have many more steps to take to become a playoff contender, he told Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “I would say that we discovered through a lot of different assessments and lineups that there’s a style of play that, if we’re rowing in the right direction, can be successful. And we have the type of players here who were bought into that,” he said. “We’re far from where we need to be — still at the ground level. But we feel good about the camaraderie of the group, the work ethic of the group, and the direction we’re headed. But (there’s) a lot of work ahead of us.”
After an injury-marred season, the Magic still wound up as the highest seed in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. A victory over Atlanta on Tuesday would clinch the No. 7 seed and a matchup with Boston in the first round. “With everything we’ve gone through, with the bodies being down, with guys being in and out of lineups and the adversity that we’ve hit this year, for this group to get to .500, [it] says a lot about their character, their care factor, and the coaching staff,” coach Jamahl Mosley said, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “We’re going to have to put that behind us in this moment and move onto Tuesday and make sure we’re ready to take care of business.”
Forward Larry Nance Jr. won’t be available for the Hawks against the Magic, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. He’s still recovering from a right medial femoral condyle fracture.

Heat Notes: Play-In, Warriors’ Pick, Adebayo, Herro, Wiggins

April 12th, 2025 at 8:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are locked into the East’s No. 10 seed as the play-in tournament approaches, but coach Erik Spoelstra is happy that his team will be part of the postseason at all, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. It’s been a difficult season in Miami, marked by a long dispute with Jimmy Butler before he was traded in February, and Spoelstra is ready for a fresh start.

“It’s the second season and this is something that I want everybody in the locker room, which they do have this, I want everybody to be appreciative of this opportunity,” Spoelstra said. “It could be something where you’re not even in the play-in or have an opportunity for this. We have an opportunity to win and move on to the next thing. I mean, this is exciting. This is great competition.”

The 10th-seeded Heat have to win two road games to reach the playoffs, starting Wednesday with the Bulls, who’ve beaten them in all three meetings this season. If Miami manages to pull out a victory at Chicago, the next obstacle will be the loser of the 7-8 game between Orlando and Atlanta.

“Win or go home. It’s like the NCAA Tournament. Anything can happen,” Bam Adebayo said. “You’ve seen teams in the tournament that got swept by a team in the regular season and you get that one shining moment and it’s a turnaround.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Miami fans will be keeping an eye on the Warriors as the season wraps up tomorrow, Chiang adds. The 2025 first-round pick that the Heat got from Golden State in the Butler deal is top-10 protected. The Warriors are tied with Minnesota for the league’s 10th-best record, so they would have to fall into the play-in tournament, get eliminated there and then land a top-four spot in the lottery to keep the pick from conveying.
Adebayo’s improvement as a three-point shooter has been a significant development, Chiang notes in a separate story. Adebayo went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc in Friday’s win over New Orleans and is now 50-of-115 (43.5%) in his last 34 games. “You’re always going to feel good when the shot is going in,” he said. “It’s just routine. I work on it pregame, obviously behind the scenes. Just seeing it go in, obviously defenses got to change up the coverages a little bit.”
With nothing at stake in Sunday’s game against Washington, Adebayo and Tyler Herro will be given the afternoon off to rest, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Andrew Wiggins, who returned Wednesday after missing five games with right hamstring tendinopathy, has also been declared out.

Heat Notes: Bulls Showdown, Adebayo, Ware, Herro, Burks

April 8th, 2025 at 12:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The two teams are a combined 13 games under .500, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra expects a playoff atmosphere when his team faces the Bulls on Wednesday night in Chicago, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

At minimum, the game will go a long way toward deciding who has home court advantage in the East’s 9-10 matchup in the play-in tournament. Miami is currently the 10th seed at 36-43, while Chicago is ninth at 36-42 going into a game tonight in Cleveland. Both teams also have a chance to pass Orlando or Atlanta and move into the 7-8 game.

“I think it’s a lot of fun,” Spoelstra said after Monday’s win over Philadelphia. “Nobody in our locker room is cynical enough to think otherwise. … This is what the league is right now. Just embrace it and enjoy it. This is going to be a great night. It’s going to feel like a playoff game and that’s fun.”

The Heat had larger aspirations when the season began, but they were derailed by injuries and a lingering dispute with Jimmy Butler that led to him being traded to Golden State in February. With the season winding down, the players are trying to put themselves in the best possible position to survive the play-in and earn a spot in the playoffs.

“We know what’s at stake,” Tyler Herro said. “It will be much harder to win two play-in games on the road as opposed to hopefully trying to get one at home.”

There’s more from Miami:

The Heat’s victory Monday night came without Bam Adebayo, as back spasms forced him to miss his third game of the season, Jackson adds in a separate story. Spoelstra said the issue began after Saturday’s game, and Adebayo is being considered “day to day.” Kel’el Ware moved into the starting lineup and tied a Heat single-game record for a rookie by grabbing 17 rebounds. Miami also got 20 points from Herro, who returned to action after sitting out Saturday with a thigh injury that he said was “still a little sore” when Monday’s game began. “As the game kept going, it loosened up a little bit more,” Herro added. “It feels good now. I will be ready to go against Chicago. I’m trying to play as many games as possible.”
In another piece, Jackson talks to a pair of longtime NBA scouts about several issues involving the Heat, including their assessment of who among Miami’s younger players has the brightest NBA future.
The Heat have asked Alec Burks to be flexible in his first season with the team as he fills in for various injured players, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Lately they’ve needed him to provide scoring, and he responded with a season-high 24 points on Saturday. “There aren’t a lot of guys, to be frank, that really are willing to sign up for this kind of role,” Spoelstra said. “We’re really appreciative of him, because he is that pro’s pro. He’s always ready, takes care of himself and he can produce in a lot of different kind of roles.”

Heat Notes: Wiggins, Herro, Arison, Tiebreakers

April 5th, 2025 at 6:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

There’s still no set timetable for Andrew Wiggins to return from right hamstring tendinopathy, but the Heat continue to hope that he’ll be back before the regular season ends, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Wiggins will miss his fifth straight game tonight due to the hamstring issue, and Chiang notes that it’s the 13th time he has been unavailable since he was acquired from Golden State in early February. He has also been sidelined by a stomach illness, a sprained right ankle and a lower left leg contusion.

In the 15 games he’s played since coming to Miami, Wiggins has been productive, averaging 19.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 46.5% from the field and 36.7% from three-point range. Miami has four games remaining after tonight and is locked in a tight battle for positioning for the play-in tournament. The Heat are tied with Chicago at 35-42, two games behind Orlando and one game back of Atlanta.

Chiang points out that Miami has won three of the four games Wiggins has missed because of the hamstring while using a starting lineup of Tyler Herro, Alec Burks, Pelle Larsson, Kel’el Ware and Bam Adebayo.

There’s more on the Heat:

Herro will miss tonight’s game due to a right thigh contusion he suffered in Thursday’s contest against Memphis, Chiang tweets. It will be the fourth time Herro has been unavailable this season. Haywood Highsmith is questionable with left Achilles soreness, while Isaiah Stevens is also questionable after hurting his right foot while warming up. “(Herro) was doing as much treatment as he could,” coach Erik Spoelstra said in a pre-game session with reporters (Twitter link). “You guys saw the play. It was on that fast break. He just had a contusion there. We’ll treat him day to day.”
Heat owner Micky Arison has been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year as a finalist, Chiang adds in a separate story. The franchise has won three titles and reached the NBA Finals seven times during his 29-year tenure. “My management style is get the best people and let them go to work and don’t get in their way,” Arison said during today’s Hall of Fame press conference in San Antonio. “… I’m really uncomfortable being up here because I think the best owners are the most invisible owners and I’d rather be invisible than be up here.”
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reviews the Heat’s tiebreakers against the other three play-in teams and examines their chances of moving into the seventh or eighth seed.

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