Q: Ira, have the Heat coddled Bam Adebayo too much? He never had to fight for a contract, is a captain who it seems like doesn’t get along with his teammates, and keeps asking for new players alongside so he doesn’t have to play center. This is not a good look. – Andre.
A: A lot to unpack here. But also consider that the incident on that hotel practice court on Friday with Tyler Herro proved to be particularly newsworthy because it also was so out of character. And that says plenty about Bam Adebayo’s character, that nine years in, this arguably stands as his lone “whoa” moment. When it comes to the Heat moving so quickly with the Adebayo contract extensions, as they twice have done, that is a basketball decision, valuing elite defense and complementary offense. Have those deals been overpays? A case certainly can be made, but that also is the way of the NBA, as the Celtics showed when they moved off Jaylen Brown because of what they were paying. As far as differences with teammates, consider two specific circumstances. Jimmy Butler has a reputation for burning bridges, so it’s not as if that tension was uniquely Heat. And Tyler Herro can have a snarky way about him, as shown with his social media. For the most part, though, players have spoken glowingly of Bam as a teammate and as an opponent. There is universal respect there. As for the openness of a desire for quality partners in the power rotation, consider all the undersized power forwards the Heat have played alongside Bam over the years (PJ Tucker, Jae Crowder, Trevor Ariza, etc.). In fact, for all the seeming consternation of the coaching staff, Bam was the one who wanted to try to make it work with Kel’el Ware. What happened Friday showed that even good guys can have their moments.
Q: The social-media comments by Tyler Herro and ensuing scuffle with Bam Adebayo really illustrate that these two didn’t get along and the front office should’ve broken them up sooner. The Heat continually let things go until they become untenable, first with Jimmy Butler, now this. – John, Ocala.
A: With Jimmy Butler, yes. But even in that case, it did not become untenable until it became apparent that the Heat were in no way interested in granting him the extension he sought. While the Heat also bypassed an extension for Herro in his October window, to his credit, Tyler never acted out during the season, making this an after-the-fact issue. But to your greater point, it is something to look at going forward, if the Heat decide to bypass other extension windows, knowing now what the outcomes could turn into.
Q: You let Tyler Herro off the hook too easily. He talked the talk and faced the music. – Anderson.
A: Which, in a way, brings it back to Pat Riley’s comment about when LeBron James left the Heat in 2014, with Pat’s comment about, “No more smiling faces with hidden agendas.” The reality is that the NBA, and the entertainment realm in general, is full of “smiling faces with hidden agendas.” Such is the hit-and-run world of social media. But also keep in mind that Pat and LeBron mended that fence, so there is no reason not to believe that there yet could be a truce in Adebayo v. Herro.
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