Miami Heat insider indicates team would’ve had to send Bam Adebayo to Utah Jazz to land Donovan Mitchell

peter2dewey@yahoo.com'
3 Min Read

The Utah Jazz wanted Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo in a swap for Donovan Mitchell this past offseason, according to a team insider.

Mitchell was eventually dealt by the Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the offseason for a package of players and draft picks.

It makes sense that the Heat wouldn’t have wanted to part ways with Adebayo, who is one of the best big men in the league today. Adebayo is the anchor of Miami’s defense and has really come along as an offensive player in the last few seasons.

Since the Heat had less draft capital that they would have been able to trade, it makes sense that the Jazz were looking for an All-Star player in return for Mitchell.

Instead of making a deal with Miami for either Adebayo or Tyler Herro, the Jazz opted to load up on draft picks and bring in promising players such as Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji and Lauri Markkanen in exchange for Mitchell.

Even though some Heat fans would have loved Mitchell on the roster, it doesn’t seem like it was a realistic option if Adebayo would have been on the move. The key for Miami would have been pairing Mitchell with Adebayo and Jimmy Butler to chase a title.

This season, Adebayo is averaging 21.2 points (a career-high), 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field.

His impact on the defensive end for the Heat may be his most important quality, as he takes on the challenge of guarding some of the best bigs in the league on a nightly basis.

The Heat have struggled at times on offense this season, especially with Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry missing time, but Adebayo hasn’t been the problem.

Without the star center, the Heat would be in a much worse spot as a franchise, and they may not have been able to replace him, even if they made a trade for Mitchell.

Now that Heat fans can see that there was no way to bring Mitchell to Miami without losing Adebayo, it may be easier for them to understand why the front office is content with the current roster.

Share This Article
Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.