Despite a brutal first round playoff sweep at the hands of the Cavaliers, Heat big man Bam Adebayo is proud of how Miami handled a fraught 2024/25 season, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“This organization and this team could have let go of the rope a long time ago, going through what we went through this season,” Adebayo said. “A lot of people would have just chalked it up and gone like, ‘You know what, we’re just going to start over.’ That’s one thing I love about this organization is that we’re always trying to win no matter what, no matter what situation we’re in… We went through two play-in games on the road trying to just get to the dance. So I would say it’s been an up and down road and we’ve figured out how hard it is to win.”
All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler‘s trade demands led to an uneven season start, and his eventual jettisoning to Golden State essentially killed the club’s chances of making a deep playoff run. The 37-45 Heat’s post-Butler era included a 10-game losing streak and a six-game winning streak, en route to a resilient postseason berth.
There’s more out of Miami:
- With Gregg Popovich officially stepping down from his head coaching role in San Antonio, 17-year Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has become the league’s longest-tenured active coach with the same team. Still, Spoelstra still has his eye on the franchise’s future, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We’re going to put our head down and keep on working until we get the result that we expect and that our city expects,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s the biggest motivating factor right now.” Last year, Spoelstra was inked to an eight-year extension, reportedly worth over $120MM. Clearly, he isn’t planning on hanging it up any time soon.
- In a new reader mailbag, Winderman explains why it could prove difficult for the Heat to trade their way into maximizing their future draft pick equity. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald outlines what kinds of moves the team should look to make to improve its long-term outlook — and what moves Miami should avoid making at all costs. Jackson notes that swingman Andrew Wiggins could serve as a useful trade chip in acquiring a frustrated All-Star from a rival team, should one become available. In another piece, Chiang takes a look at the Heat’s entire roster heading into the offseason, examining the players’ potential fates.
- Following a turbulent individual season, 21-year-old Heat forward Nikola Jovic is hoping to make major developmental strides over the summer, writes Winderman in an additional article. “I have a solid three months to work on something,” Jovic said. “What that something will be, I don’t know yet. But I feel like this might be the first summer that I actually have some time to improve my game.” Injuries played a part in his struggles. He sat out almost a month early into the season due to a left ankle sprain. Upon recuperating, Jovic became a Spoelstra rotation regular — for a time. He broke his right hand in late February, and only re-appeared, sparingly, in the playoffs.“I think since the new year and then before my injury, I felt like I was pretty consistent and I kind of found my role coming off the bench and doing some things… and the injury kind of pulled me back down.”