Miami Heat: What Hassan Whiteside’s departure means for Bam Adebayo

The Miami Heat recently traded enigmatic big man Hassan Whiteside to the Portland Trail Blazers. What’s that mean for third-year big man, Bam Adebayo.

The Miami Heat needed changes this offseason, as the core they had built over the last few seasons just didn’t seem as though they had much more room to grow. There was supposedly one issue though. They were loaded with “bad” contracts, without much salary cap room to try and improve.

Well, after just three days into the offseason, the Miami Heat have almost had a complete makeover. For starters, they were able to acquire a top 15-20 player in the NBA in Jimmy Butler, which is a feat all in itself.

As a part of that deal, which took multiple tries to actually come together, they also had to move some of the players that were currently on the roster. Those players were Miami Heat favorite Josh Richardson and seemingly disgruntled big man, Hassan Whiteside.

While everyone hated to see Richardson go, there was somewhat of a mixed to a lopsided reaction to the moving of Whiteside. The tilt on opinion went in the direction of what appeared to be relief by the fanbase.

Unfortunately for both Whiteside and the Miami Heat, the union was just not as effective as it should and could have been, with many feeling as though he lost focus after receiving the lucrative 4 year/$98.4 million dollar deal he got from the Heat. Whatever the case may be, he is now a Trail Blazer, but what does that mean for Bam Adebayo?

There are a few ways to look at it. The first and most immediate approach to take is the thought that it should definitely afford him more minutes. While the minutes were somewhat evenly split last season, with Whiteside and Adebayo both playing 23.3 minutes per game while Kelly Olynyk played 22.9, it should mean an immediate uptick in minutes for both Adebayo and Olynyk.

In those 23 minutes last season, Adebayo averaged 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks. If you take a look at his per 36 statistics, he averaged 13.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks.

As indicated by his numbers on a per 36-minute basis and due to the expectation that he will continue to grow and evolve as a player, it is safe to say that his per game statistics should increase by a minimal 25 percent due to the fact that he should be afforded more actual court time. The 25 percent is a loose estimate based on the fact that his per 36 numbers were at least 50 percent higher than his per game averages, and if he only gets a third of the minutes left behind by Whiteside, that is more than 25 percent of his minutes played per game last season.

One of the last things and more important things that it should mean for Bam Adebayo is simply a greater opportunity. Not only should he find himself in the game during more crucial or crunchtime moments, but he should also see the pace of the team start to gear itself more towards a style that fits him best, a more uptempo type of play.

While Hassan Whiteside could at times be a force on the glass and blocking shots, he is still a very large human being who is not the most fleet of foot. At times, he seemed to bog or slow the Miami Heat offense down, while in others he was unavailable or uninvolved in the transition game due to his inability to keep up.

While Bam is still very much a large being in his own right, he isn’t quite as big or lumbering as Hassan Whiteside is, while also being a much more fluid athlete. He is more fleet of foot, more mobile, more agile, more quick twitch, and springier off the bounce.

This should fit right in with an uptempo style since that’s the way he was built to play. He should also be more effective due to this notion because he excelled in that fashion at Kentucky, in those situations as a Miami Heat player, and because it allows him to simply take advantage of the physical advantages he possesses over others.

While there may be a few more things it could mean for Adebayo on the minute side of things, these are the main ways that Hassan Whiteside’s departure should effect Bam Adebayo. Adebayo should excel with more minutes because he has already been the type to do the most with the least.