Bam Adebayo has been a great defender of Miami Heat culture. He's been an ideal next face of the franchise. However, his patience could be wearing thin, and the Heat's front office should tread carefully.
His latest comments could very well be a warning shot to the Heat of what could come next if the ship can't get back on course.
"I don’t wanna be in this (expletive) no more. We’re better than being in the play-in for the last 4 years."Bam Adebayo
Bam expressed his frustrations after the Heat blew a second straight game that they probably should've won. After their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night, the Heat are not necessarily locked into another Play-In Tournament spot, but it's likely going to be awfully difficult for them to fight their way into a top 6 seed in the conference.
Bam Adebayo is tired of Heat mediocrity
Miami is three games back of the sixth seed heading into the final 22 games of the regular season.
It's not an impossible task for the Heat to make up that ground, especially now that their schedule does soften up a bit, but I need to remind fans that the last time the Heat beat a team with a record over .500 was more than a month ago.
Bam is clearly frustrated, as most of the fans are.
Bam is tired of being a Play-In Tournament team, and it does feel as if those emotions are finally beginning to blow over. And this is a moment where the Heat needs to be careful. These are the moments when things could get out of hand between Bam and the Heat.
Wanting to contend again, especially in the prime years of his career, Bam is essentially calling out the Heat's front office. It may not have been 100 percent intentional, but his frustrations do speak volumes.
We're still a few steps before we get there, but these are the types of feelings that, if allowed to fester, could lead to discontentment. Especially in the NBA, discontentment leads to trade demands for star players.
Despite his criticisms, Bam is the level of star player who could achieve that if he wanted. And slowly but surely, the Heat's consistent mediocrity over the last three years is starting to wear on him.
I wouldn't say Bam is at the point where his frustrations are boiling over, but he could be inching closer to it. And it should be a warning shot to the Heat and the front office. It's time to get their ship in order because, if not, it could lead to much more uncertainty for this team's future than they currently realize.