When the Miami Heat acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo, the instant evaluation centered around how he fit next to Bam Adebayo. The two All-Star big men will soon formally join forces and anchor the interior for a team with championship aspirations.
If the pairing ultimately fails to develop optimal chemistry, however, then Adebayo would likely be the player traded to help the new franchise player prosper.
It’s a harsh statement to make considering Adebayo has played his entire career in Miami. Nine seasons, at that. During that time, he’s helped Miami make two runs to the NBA Finals and a third journey to the Conference Finals.
Adebayo was the defensive anchor on all three of those teams. He wasn’t, however, the offensive focal point—an unfortunate fact to consider.
Whether fair or foul, contenders need a true No. 1 scoring option to have a realistic shot at a title. Antetokounmpo checks that box as a player who has averaged at least 30.4 points per game in three of the past four seasons—as well as a player who has twice won MVP.
In saying that, Antetokounmpo is also 31—meaning the Heat need to be aggressive in how they build around him as his athletic prime nears its end. That could ultimately require trading Adebayo.
Heat may need to trade Bam Adebayo if star pairing doesn't work
To be clear, it’s not that Adebayo isn’t good enough to help Miami contend. Instead it’s that he is—and will, in turn, likely have the most trade value of any player on the roster other than Antetokounmpo next summer. That's both a product of his quality and the Heat's limited supporting cast.
If Miami fails to show signs of promise as a true contender, then trading Adebayo in a package deal for a superstar or swapping him for multiple starters could be a realistic endeavor.
Miami is. after all, top-heavy in its roster structure. It has a promising starting five and at least one solid reserve depending on who starts between Pelle Larsson and Klay Thompson, but lacks depth. It’s also devoid of a star-caliber perimeter player.
That simply doesn’t qualify as sufficient in the modern NBA, as championship-caliber teams have at least one perimeter player who can create offense at a star-caliber level.
Thankfully, Adebayo can just as easily make himself untouchable in Miami's pursuit of such a player. If he and Antetokounmpo dominate defensively, and Adebayo improves his three-point efficiency, then the Heat will instead have a duo to build around—even if the path to an improved perimeter would be more difficult to navigate.
By no means is Adebayo on his way out of Miami, but he'll effectively have one season to prove if he's actually an ideal fit next to Antetokounmpo to avoid ending up on the trade market.
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