After a historically bad season for the Miami Heat, Bam Adebayo gets unusually critical about the changes that need to take place this summer.
Despite making the NBA Playoffs for a sixth-straight seaosn, the Miami Heat concluded one of their worst years in team history. Over the last 20 years, the Heat has only had one season in which they won fewer than 37 games; that took place during 2007-08 season when Dwyane Wade missed a huge chunk of the season due to injuries and when Shaquille O'Neal would be traded mid-season.
Interestingly enough, that bad season resulted in Pat Riley stepping away as the team's head coach. In many ways, that disastrous season sparked huge changes for the franchise. After this year's struggles, there's reason to believe that it will be much of the same heading into this offseason. However, that could be easier said than done. The team doesn't have a ton of tradable draft picks and will not have salary cap space heading into the offseason.
Bam's critical comments on Pat Riley
Nevertheless, it's something that Heat players are expecting, including Bam Adebayo. When asked about that possibility heading into the summer, Bam was surprisingly critical about Riley. During his end-of-the-season press conference, Bam essentially said the onus is on Riley to figure out the right changes to help push this franchise in the right direction. Uncharacteristically, he was more direct than he's ever been before.
"At the end of the day, I want to win. So I can't really go into the logistics of the tweaks and everything. That’s more of a Pat Riley question. And I hope you can ask that question to him and he doesn’t blow you off and ignore you. He knows my mentality, he knows we want to win."Bam Adebayo
If Bam, probably the Heat's best overall player heading into the offseason, has made it clear that he wants to see some real changes to the roster, it will be interesting to see how the front office handles those expectations. Then again, part of the reason why Jimmy Butler is no longer a member of the Heat is that the front office continued to miss out on upgrades to the roster.
The Heat have tried in the past to add significant upgrades to the roster, but they've just fallen short. The question is, how will those efforts be any different heading into this summer? As Bam notes, that's a question that only Riley can answer.
Heading into the summer, the Heat may be at a bit of a crossroads for the franchise. The moves they make, or don't, this offseason will go a long way in determining the immediate future of the team. One thing is clear, though, and it's that the Heat can't afford a disgruntled Bam. That's the last thing the Heat needs with where they find themselves as a franchise at the moment.