A post on X (formerly Twitter) by Miami Heat star big man Bam Adebayo might alert some people to trade rumours linking Miami to Cleveland Cavaliers player Donovan Mitchell.
After the way the 2023–24 season went, it appears that the Heat might profit from making some personnel adjustments in the offseason.
With a 46-36 record at the end of the regular season and the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, Miami had defeated the Chicago Bulls in the play-in round.
In the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Boston Celtics—who ended with a league-best 64-18 record—defied the Heat due to their lacklustre play throughout the regular season.
Terry Rozier and Jimmy Butler missed the entire series due to injuries. Miami’s four losses versus Boston came by a margin of at least fourteen points, and the Heat were defeated in five games.
Miami was especially humiliated in Game 5 because the Heat lost at TD Garden by an overwhelming 34 points.
The performance of Adebayo was one of the few encouraging things to come out of Miami’s brief appearance in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. He averaged 22.6 points, 49.5 percent shooting from the field, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game versus Boston, making him maybe the Heat’s best and most reliable player.
In the subsequent round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics eliminated Mitchell’s Cavaliers in five games after dispatching Adebayo and the Heat.
Mitchell only participated in three of the five games he faced off against Boston, but in those three games, he averaged 31.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 51.5 percent shooting from the field.
Although Adebayo may have posted the comment in fun on social media, Heat supporters shouldn’t take it personally and should anticipate further trade rumours linking the team to Mitchell.
