Much has been made about whether or not the Miami Heat could emerge as a championship contender in the Eastern Conference if they’re able to acquire Kevin Durant via trade. With those types of expectations and conversations, it makes it quite clear that Bam Adebayo will be under immense pressure as the primary supporting piece in a KD build for Miami.

Bam wouldn’t necessarily have to be the second-highest-scoring player on the team; that’s probably where Tyler Herro will feast playing next to a dynamic scoring wing. However, Bam would have to be the team’s second-best player on a nightly basis. Because of what Bam can do all over the floor, aside from scoring, the onus could fall on Miami’s versatile forward to determine how dangerous this team could be in a very open Eastern Conference.

If the Heat are going to defy the odds in the event they land KD via trade, it’s pretty clear that Bam is going to have to consistently take his game to another level – an area in which he consistently struggled this past season.

Bam’s struggles this past season

Even though Bam did have a strong finish to the season, it wasn’t until February that he started to break out of his inconsistency struggles last year. Part of that was probably due to the locker room issues that were taking place amid the Jimmy Butler fiasco, but either way, it wasn’t encouraging for the Heat by any means.

Understanding the potential issues that lay ahead for the Heat with Jimmy heading into last season, the hope was that Bam and Herro could take a bigger leadership approach. To be perfectly honest, while both were productive for the team last season, both players left much to be desired in the intangible areas of their game.

More specifically, if the Heat are going to emerge as a relevant team in the Eastern Conference next season, Bam is going to have to be better. An addition of KD will certainly help greatly on that front, but he’ll still have to prove that he can be a reliable supporting star again.

Especially if there’s not a clear path toward the Heat upgrading their roster in other ways after a hypothetical trade for KD, the team’s chances of making noise in the East will likely fall on the shoulders of Bam and Herro. Of those two players, it’s Bam that has always been considered to have a higher ceiling in his game.

If the Heat are going to bounce back after a truly forgettable 2024-25 NBA campaign, it’s not just the KD acquisition they’ll have to close the deal on. Bam also will need to take his game to a slightly higher level. In many ways, we’re going to find out a lot about Bam and his star power for the Heat.