Expect Heat to take step back after quiet offseason? Adebayo: ‘They’re always counting us out’
The Miami Heat is on track to bring back most of last season’s roster that finished just one win short of reaching the NBA Finals.
Considering how close that group came to winning a championship, it could be described as a successful offseason. But with other teams in the Eastern Conference like the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks upgrading their rosters this summer, some could argue that teams have passed the Heat amid its quiet offseason.
Heat center Bam Adebayo and guard Victor Oladipo have learned to ignore that outside noise.
“They’re always counting us out,” Adebayo said Thursday morning at an event held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, with Jr. Heat teaming up with Rolling Loud Miami music festival to host 50 local children from Afterschool All Stars for a basketball clinic. “We ‘The Kennel’ for a reason, the underdog. That’s our chip. You can believe what you want, you can say what you want. But until we toss the ball up, your feelings really don’t matter.”
Adebayo is one of 12 players from the Heat’s season-ending roster who are currently on the roster for this upcoming season, which includes 13 players signed to standard contracts.
The only new face is rookie forward Nikola Jovic, who was selected by Miami with the 27th overall pick in last month’s draft. And the lone member of last season’s Heat playoff rotation who is elsewhere is forward P.J. Tucker, who left to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
“The outside thoughts told Golden State they weren’t going to win last year. It don’t matter,” Oladipo said Thursday after helping run the hour-long Jr. Heat basketball clinic, with Rolling Loud founders Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif among those in attendance. “Everybody got opinions, man. Opinions are like emotions, everybody got them. Can’t do nothing about them. You just got to focus on yourself and we just focus on the Heat. We’ve always been. That’s how we are.
“Last year, we were the same way. We just focus on us. Can’t really control what people think or say. We can’t control where they rank us or anything like that. I really can’t control what they say about me. I really don’t care anymore.”
Of course, the Heat is part of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes and continues to pursue the superstar forward. Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets last month, but teams have struggled to meet the Nets’ incredibly high asking price for him.
And there remains uncertainty surrounding Donovan Mitchell’s situation with the Utah Jazz. The star guard has yet to publicly request a trade, but the Jazz is reportedly now willing to listen to trade offers for Mitchell.
When asked by one of the children in attendance for Thursday’s clinic about the possibility of the Heat trading for Mitchell, Oladipo said with a smile: “We can’t answer that.”
A trade for Durant or Mitchell would turn a quiet offseason into one of the most memorable summers in Heat history.
“It is what it is, control what you can control,” Adebayo said of the trade speculation involving the Heat. “Obviously it’s an opportunity for something, but in my opinion you just control what you can control. I can’t control that. So do what I’ve been doing. I get up early, I work out, having fun with these kids, and I’m going to go home and go to sleep.”
Here’s what else Adebayo and Oladipo had to say at Thursday’s event:
▪ Adebayo did not want to answer a question about incorporating the three-point shot into his offensive game, but said he is preparing to take more shots next season.
“Repetition and then just talk with [coach Erik Spoelstra] about the game plan for the start of the season and we go from there,” Adebayo said of preparing to be a bigger part of the Heat’s offense.
▪ Adebayo has confidence Caleb Martin (6-5, 205 pounds) can hold up as the Heat’s starting power forward if he’s asked to take on that role following Tucker’s departure.
“Everybody on our roster has been asked to do something they’re uncomfortable with, or play a role they’ve never played,” Adebayo said. “And a lot of dudes have excelled, because we put so much work in and we put so much dedication in that it’s our job, it’s our livelihood. So guys are coming trying to make the best impression in the way they can. So I think it’ll be fine. I know Caleb, he’s probably in the gym right now somewhere. I feel like he’s going to do well.”
▪ This marks the first full offseason that Oladipo has been healthy enough to work on his game since 2018 because of two surgeries on his right knee in the last three-plus years.
“It just feels good to be able to hoop in the summer time again,” Oladipo said, “just to work out and play against guys in the summertime and work on my game and improve my game, improve my strength, just being comfortable out there. So looking forward to the opportunity that lies ahead.”
Oladipo signed a two-year contract worth about $18.2 million in free agency to return to the Heat this offseason.
This story was originally published July 21, 2022 at 12:10 PM.
