As the Miami Heat try to figure out their next move, team president Pat Riley doesn't seem to be speculating about the possibility of trading three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo.
He met with the media on Monday and was asked if he would consider leaving Adebayo after other teams have traded away their franchise players to become better over the past few years. His answer was quite definite. And he even offered a ridiculous price that he would accept:
"I want to build it around Bam. I think Mikey wants that too... I'm just going to give you 'no', I'm not going to do it. Unless someone gives me eight picks and (Victor) Wembanyama."
One could argue that the most ridiculous thing was Riley not being able to pronounce Wembley's name except for a few letters.
He was given three other examples of teams that replaced their star players to become better. Atlanta traded away Trae Young, Indiana traded Domantas Sabonis and Toronto waived Pascal Siakam. But Riley simply said, “They're not bam... not in my opinion by any means.
"[He's]your franchise pillar, anchor-creator, culture-bearer and a genius."
Adebayo averaged 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds this year, which are pretty good numbers, but hardly 'franchise player' type. He was also in the news last month in the NBA for surpassing Kobe Bryant for the second-highest scoring game of all-time when he scored 83 points in a game in March.
Adebayo is a perennial contender for Defensive Player of the Year, and has averaged a double-double in four of the last seven years.
But in the end, bam or no bam, the Heat fell far short of reaching their goal this season. They finished 43–39, and were seeded 10th in the Eastern Conference. They lost to the Charlotte Hornets in the play-in tournament and were eliminated from the playoffs.
