The Miami Heat have no interest in trading Bam Adebayo. If that wasn't clear before, NBA insider Jake Fischer finally made that clear.
As should come as no surprise to anyone who has their thumb on the Heat's pulse, Fischer says that Miami has no interest in trading Bam. The topic took a life of its own over the last couple of weeks as Bam was struggling through a pretty bad offensive slump.
Not only was Bam able to break out of that nasty slump Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns, in which he finished with 29 points and nine rebounds, but this bit of reporting also seems to have quieted that erroneous trade speculation at the same time.
It would make no sense for the Heat to trade Bam
The most dumbfounding part of all this is that even if the Heat wanted to trade Bam, it would make no sense for them to do so now - not when his trade value was arguably at an all-time low. That just doesn't add up.
If the Heat came to the conclusion that it would be in their best interest to trade Bam, they would not do so in-season in the middle of one of the worst slumps of his career. At the very least, they'd wait until the offseason and give him the second half of this season to build his offensive reputation back up.
Either way, that's not happening.
The Heat aren't trading Bam, and nor should they. He's arguably the team's most important player on the roster, and that was evident with the team's performance Tuesday night against the Suns.
When Bam is playing at a high level on both ends of the floor, this Heat team looks completely different. When Bam is bad, the Heat are quite mediocre.
I suppose there's a chance that the Heat's recent struggles aren't that simple, but, at the same time, what if they are? Would it be that surprising to suggest that Bam is a key to the team's success on both ends of the floor?
Not entirely. But that's also part of the problem. The Heat is too lenient on Bam. But that's another problem that the Heat needs to solve in the future. And perhaps that's where the Ja Morant trade rumors come into play, but I suppose that's a different conversation for another day.
As the next trade season quickly approaches, it's safe to say that Bam will play no part in it. He's not the block, and Miami has no desire to move him. Just the way it should be.