The Miami Heat are paying Bam Adebayo like a No. 1 option, but his offense isn’t good enough to match that. And since there doesn’t seem to be a clear plan to bring in someone to fill that role, it feels like the Heat are hurdling toward a situation where they could be forced to consider trading Adebayo.
For his entire career, Adebayo has been a solid 20-10 player. The problem is, he’s been exactly that. Nothing more, nothing less. The most points he’s averaged in a single season is 20.4 (2022-23), and the most rebounds he’s grabbed in a single season is 10.4 (2023-24). Yet he’s now on a max contract.
It’s not a great mix.
What’s wrong with Bam Adebayo’s offensive game?
First and foremost, Adebayo isn’t an elite shot-creator. He’s done a phenomenal job playing off of others, but when it comes time to keep the ball in his hands and get a shot for himself, the moves just haven’t developed.
On top of that, Adebayo isn’t a floor-spacer. He showed some flashes from behind the arc with Team USA last summer, but this season, he shot just 35.7% from deep on 2.8 attempts per game. It was a fine start, but not nearly enough to make him a viable threat from range quite yet.
Also, no matter the situation, Adebayo has consistently been unable to carve out a role as a heavy shot-taker. He’s always stuck around the 14-shots-per-game mark, and he doesn’t get to the free-throw line enough to make up for it.
Even in the post-Jimmy Butler era (from the trade onward), Adebayo only took 15.4 shots per game vs. the 13.5 he took prior to the move. In that post-Butler time span, Andrew Wiggins (14.8 shots per game) almost out-shot Adebayo.
Miami is paying Adebayo like one of the best players in the league—and he is that mostly because of his defense—but they need his offense to have taken bigger strides. It hasn’t.
Why could the Heat trade Bam Adebayo?
Tyler Herro taking a leap last year certainly helped, but still, the Heat need more from Adebayo. They need him to be comfortable as an offensive focal point in order to compete for a playoff spot.
If that leap doesn’t come in the next season or so, Miami could be forced to have some tough conversations. Adebayo is only 27 years old right now, but he’ll be 28 before next season starts.
Barring a huge offensive leap, Miami may be better off trading Adebayo to a perfect situation for him to be at his best, as they could get an absolute haul of a return in exchange for the All-Defensive staple.