Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The player best suited to be Bam Adebayo’s next partner plus other Heat notes

The Jimmy Butler experience is entering year six and he will be a free agent in 2025. He wants to stay. The team wants him back barring a slow down in production or a toxic environment with the unit below a .500 record. 

The end of an era can arrive unexpectedly, but thinking of the future, a perfect partner next to Adebayo would be his Paris Olympic teammate Tyrese Haliburton. The latter is one of the top playmakers in the NBA, making his teammates better and will be age 29 when his contract is up. Aside from some exceptions, big-time players aren’t getting to free agency much anymore, so the Heat would require assets. 

The group has some that might grow into something more. But remember, this is still a pipe dream unless vintage Pat Riley emerges from his crypt at some point with a harpoon. 

The 2023-24 assist leader is perfect for the next build because of the gravity he creates. Haliburton could easily toss Adebyo a lob out of a blitz but think bigger. A passer like him and an athlete like Adebayo should make one of the finest two-man connections in the league.

Haliburton is the engine of one of the top transition squads and the fourth-best fast-break unit. He needs to be picked up early and sometimes with a trap. Putting Adebayo more in a wideout role in the open court would bring showtime back in black.  

High-quality big men have long NBA lifespans. Adebayo will age gracefully as a defensive anchor and much more if next to someone who bends defenses easily by feasting inside the arc and splashing a large quantity of trays. Keep in mind Haliburton makes 39.3% of his hoisted 3-pointers for his career. And Adebayo’s jumper is on the rise from midrange and he’s finally gotten comfortable experimenting with threes. 

Defensively, Haliburton is below average. Guards and forwards score well on him inside the arc. But lineups with him don’t get compromised. In the Pacers’ most used lineup (Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner), the defense permitted the opponents a 50.9 effective field goal percentage, good enough for the 81st percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. 

What could a Bosh-Adebayo frontcourt have been?

If Bosh didn’t have continuous spurts with the blood clots, perhaps the Heat may not have drafted Bam Adebayo in the lottery but a few picks after if they were lucky. And if they got to play together, it would have been at most six seasons, ending in 2022-23.

Playing with Bosh would have let coach Erik Spoelstra start Adebayo immediately. The Heat thought the latter was better than Hassan Whiteside from day one, yet gave him two seasons to develop as a reserve. Working next to CB likely would have expedited his development, considering the superior arsenal and leadership skills to Whiteside’s.

Bosh’s shot improved with age, and Adebayo’s is a real weapon as he enters his eighth season. Bad health robbed the Heat of max versatility- going big and small plus deploying two bigs in pick-and-roll/pop. Defensively, they would have been a potent tandem with length  and an enviable IQ. 

What is Tyler Herro’s best role?

Herro will turn 25 in his sixth season. He might raise his accuracy at close range, but don’t be surprised if he never cracks five free throw attempts per game and that he’s capped out on defense. The most freebies he’s ever tried nightly was 3.3 in 2021-22. For disruption, he’s not very fast, has short arms and isn’t strong. 

Yet, he’s a 20-point per-game scorer, which still has value. Taking into account the Heat’s personnel, the bench role is best suited because Herro’s efficiency improves when he can boogie with the ball and he doesn’t excel in the catch-and-shoot role. Upping Herro’s field goal attempts next to Butler and Adebayo isn’t the answer because it would take away quality shots. And Duncan Robinson is a superior sniper and moves better without the rock.

Someone has to embrace sacrifice for teams to succeed. It should be Herro for the Heat. It will cost him status and money when his next contract negotiations pick up. But that’s the price of winning. 

There’s no scenario where Herro falls outside the top seven rotation players. Last time he was a sixth man (2021-22), he averaged 9.8 fourth-quarter minutes. 

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