Every team has a list of players they could only dream of plugging into their system. Most of those names are superstars. However, as the Miami Heat have proven in recent years, system and high-level rotation players are just as important.
Bam Adebayo sits right in that sweet spot of All-Star talent and key rotation player. He’s also one of the Heat’s most important players, due to what he brings to the table as an elite defender and leader. However, it’s those same attributes that have Jedd Pagaduan of ClutchPoints believing Adebayo could be a “pipe dream” trade target for the Chicago Bulls.
“Among the three mentioned in this article, Bam Adebayo appears to be the most unlikely to become available in a trade,” Pagaduan wrote. “Adebayo embodies Heat Culture to a T. He is a rangy defender who can anchor top-level defenses, and he has been expanding his offensive range in recent years…Adebayo would make the Bulls so much more resolute on that end and would give them a reasonable path to a winning season. But again, this is the biggest pipe dream among all the big pipe dreams in this piece.”
Adebayo is 27 years old. So, while he’s young enough to anchor the Bulls’ rebuilding efforts, he’s unlikely to emerge as an actual target for the franchise. In fact, the Bulls would be better suited to target an explosive big man, thus giving Josh Giddey a lob threat.
Heat Head Coach on Jaime Jaquez’s Next Steps
Jaime Jaquez Jr. is a player who would arguably make more sense for the Bulls. He’s young, is a proven NBA contributor, and still has plenty of upside to improve his game. Nevertheless, Miami is unlikely to part with the Jaquez in anything less than a star-player package.
As such, Miami must be invested in Jaquez’s improvements. Erik Spoelstra recently detailed what the next steps for Jaquez’s development should look like.
“Clearly he has to work on some things, which he will,” Spoelstra said, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “He’ll work on defending in open space, defending situationally in our system. Outside shooting will be key again, but he was working on that last summer. I think a full summer again, I think he’ll see big progress. He was coming out of training camp shooting the ball great.”
Spolestra continued.
“So I think we can fast-track that. Then, ultimately, the hardest one is decision-making. Schemes have changed against him, and he has to be aggressive, but now there’s going to be different schemes, and you graduate to different levels of this. When there’s a second defender, making the right read and finding open guys when he’s in a crowd.”
Heat Have Interest in Former Bulls Forward
DeMar DeRozan left the Bulls last summer. He joined the Sacramento Kings via a sign-and-trade. Unfortunately for DeRozan, things haven’t gone to plan in Northern California. According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Heat could be interested in offering DeRozan an escape route.
“It is highly unlikely that all three of Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier, and Andrew Wiggins begin the 2025-26 season on Miami’s roster,” Siegel reported. “DeMar DeRozan is once again viewed by other teams as a potential target for Riley and the Heat.”
Adding DeRozan would be a solid play for the Heat. He would replace a significant amount of the scoring and playmaking the team lost when Jimmy Butler left earlier this year. Pat Riley will undoubtedly want to make a run at Kevin Durant. However, if that falls short, adding DeRozan could be a smart piece of business.
