Heat’s Pat Riley ‘flat-out’ shuts the door on Bam Adebayo trade: ‘I want to build around Bam’

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Zachary Weinberger, ClutchPoints

Tue, April 28, 2026 at 3:02 AM UTC ·

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Heat’s Pat Riley ‘flat-out’ shuts the door on Bam Adebayo trade: ‘I want to build around Bam’ appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

MIAMI – With the Miami Heat ’s incoming offseason surrounded in rumors and speculation, there’s one thing for certain about the team, and it involves Bam Adebayo . As the Heat are in line to potentially make some trades this summer , team president Pat Riley makes his stance known on Adebayo’s future with the franchise.

There were a myriad of topics that Riley touched on during Monday’s end-of-season press conference, one being about Adebayo and the likelihood of a trade down the line. Riley would be asked about other teams in the Eastern Conference dealing away their best players for assets, leading to the organizations in question getting better and achieving success.

The teams mentioned were when the Indiana Pacers traded away Domantas Sabonis in 2022, leading to acquiring Tyrese Haliburton and making the NBA Finals last season, the Toronto Raptors dealing away Pascal Siakam in 2024, and the Atlanta Hawks moving Trae Young to the Washington Wizards .

Toronto and Atlanta are both currently competing in the NBA Playoffs. But Riley would shoot that down quickly, saying that the players getting traded in the example are not Adebayo. Riley would virtually confirm Adebayo to be untouchable.

“I want to build this around Bam,” Riley said. “I think [owner Micky Arison] wants the same thing, and [CEO Nick Arison], and [general manager Andy Elisburg], and all of us want to. So I’m just going to give you a flat-out no, I wouldn’t do that.”

Heat’s Pat Riley on Bam Adebayo expressing frustration

It has been known for some time that Adebayo is the flagbearer for the Heat, having been mentored by Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem , with the team firmly standing with the 28-year-old in building around him. Adebayo had another productive season in averaging 20.1 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from deep.

The highlight for Adebayo last season was no doubt scoring a whopping 83 points on March 20 against the Washington Wizards, marking the second-highest-scoring game in NBA history. Adebayo was the most vocal in wanting to avoid the play-in tournament for the fourth straight season, having experienced the full brunt of it.

However, the team would experience a fall off after a 14-7 start to the year, losing 10 of its last 15 games, putting them 10th in the Eastern Conference. Riley would give insight into his exit interview with Adebayo, who expressed frustration and pledged to give him some help.

“I had a great exit interview with Bam, and I sense his frustration,” Riley said. “Just like I sensed Dwyane [Wade’s] frustration, and Shaquille [O’Neal’s] frustration, and [Alonzo Mourning’s] frustration, and all the players that we brought here over the years when we didn’t get what we really wanted. So I don’t blame Bam for being frustrated about what’s happened. “I had a good conversation with Bam, and he knows that Micky, Nick, myself, everybody that makes decisions in basketball operations, are going to try to help him, to try to get somebody to help him. Somebody who’s different.”

Heat’s Pat Riley on helping Bam Adebayo

In what form the help for Adebayo will look like remains to be seen, as of course, the team has been linked to pursuing Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo , and even some rumors point to Los Angeles Clippers ’ Kawhi Leonard . At any rate, Riley believes it needs to be a “different kind of player.”

“I think we feel the need that we should try to make the best move that we can to upgrade with Bam to help, with a different kind of player,” Riley said. “But we’ll try hard to aggressively pursue opportunities in free agency, at the draft. Then you got all summer to work on other parts of your roster. And so I don’t feel the pressure to do that. But I’ll put pressure on myself to go out and try to accomplish something.”

Fans will have their eyes peeled to this summer in the incoming offseason after the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019, losing in the play-in tournament to the Charlotte Hornets .