The Miami Heat made waves when they signed Jimmy Butler in free agency, but the key to success for the team in 2019-20 lies within Bam Adebayo and Justise Winslow’s development
Pat Riley and the Miami Heat, once again, managed to pull a rabbit out of their hat via free agency, inking Jimmy Butler (via sign-and-trade) in a summer where they didn’t even have cap space. However, the key to their success as a team during the 2019-20 season might not even lie in their most recent acquisition.
In fact, you can make the argument that the key to their upcoming season lies in the development – or lack thereof – from Justise Winslow and Bam Adebayo. After moving Josh Richardson in the sign-and-trade deal that netted them Jimmy Butler, Winslow, and Bam are the two most talented young players on the team’s roster.
And both, entering the 2019-20 season, will be playing vital – and extended – roles. Bam will be the starting center or power forward this year, while Winslow will be playing big minutes everywhere on the floor – no to mention that he should be the team’s starting point guard on opening night.
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The Heat knows what it’s going to get from Jimmy on any given night – you can make an argument that he was the Philadelphia 76ers‘ best player in the playoffs, averaging 19 points, six rebounds and five assists on 45 percent shooting from the field.
Butler is going to fill the void that Dwyane Wade will leave in that locker room, in terms of production and leadership. He’s going to be the driving force most nights, and the closer that this team sorely missed when Wade left the organization.
However, even assuming that the Heat gets a maximized Jimmy Butler, their ceiling is still limited to a 5-8 seed in the playoffs. That ceiling could change in the event that Bam and Winslow – or even just one of them – takes the next step in their progressional ladder.
Bam appears the most likely of the two, considering that most don’t believe Winslow’s ceiling – because of his erratic shooting – is essentially peak Andre Iguodala. And in today’s NBA, it’s not as great as it seems.
As for Bam, though, the sky is the ceiling. Bam is a 6-foot-9 forward/center that can handle the ball, initiate the offense, is a capable and versatile defender and is quickly developing a polished offensive repertoire.
Some are even projecting Bam’s next step to mirror the jump that Pascal Siakam saw this past season, averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in his breakout season for the Toronto Raptors.
Should Bam come anywhere near close to the player that Siakam was this past season, the Heat could quickly pivot from an interesting potential playoff team in the East to a true rabble-rouser.
While the Miami Heat did well by adding Jimmy Butler in free agency – again, in summer where they literally had no money to spend – this upcoming season will come down to the progression of Justise Winslow and Bam Adebayo.