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Bam Adebayo #13, Tyler Herro #14 and Kel’el Ware #7 of the Miami Heat react against the Atlanta Hawks during the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo implored his franchise to make significant roster changes after his team was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

The front office answered the bell with the additions of Norman Powell, Simone Fontecchio and Kasparas Jakucionis, while holding onto its young core of Kel’el Ware, Davion Mitchell and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Looking ahead to the new season, Adebayo believes his team has the requisite roster to not only make a deep playoff run but legitimately compete for an NBA title.

“It’s a very good shake up for our team and now there’s a different dynamic to it,” Adebayo said of the Miami Heat’s roster upgrades, via the Miami Herald.

The Norman Powell Factor

One of the Heat’s biggest offseason moves saw the team acquire veteran guard Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love, two players who weren’t exactly moving the needle for the team. Powell will arrive in Miami fresh off a career year that saw him average a career-high 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals at efficient 48/42/80 shooting splits. The 10-year veteran was the only player to average at least 20 points and 1.2 steals while shooting that efficiently from the field, via NBA tracking data.

The move excited Adebayo, the Heat’s new captain following Jimmy Butler’s departure.

“I feel like Norman is one of those guys that floats under the radar,” he said.

“But as you saw this year, he’s really shown that he can be an All-Star caliber player. You’ve seen what he’s done and you’ve seen him grow in this league. And, obviously, he wants to take the next challenge. Obviously, the next challenge is being with the Miami Heat. So I’m happy to have him.”

The East is Wide Open

Another key offseason move saw the Heat lock in budding 3-and-D guard Davion Mitchell into a two-year contract extension. Mitchell averaged an impressive 10.3 points, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals on 50/45/70 shooting splits for the Heat last season, after arriving from the Raptors at the trade deadline.

Adebayo believes Mitchell, 26, was primed to take another leap in the 2025-26 season and establish himself as a key piece of the Heat’s future.

“Davion being back, obviously, we’ve been missing somebody that can really play on-ball defense,” Bam Adebayo said.

“And having him come in and be that guy and understand his role, I’m looking forward to him being here for a full year and all of us being together and getting to know one another and turning this into more of a brotherhood. We were kind of disconnected a little bit trying to figure out everybody’s role and trying to figure out everybody’s style of play. But now we’re going to have a good training camp and then we go from there.”

With Mitchell on the floor, the Heat allowed 3.4 fewer points per 100 possessions, per Spectrum tracking data.

Adebayo has good reason to feel optimistic entering the 2025-26 season. With the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers out of contention due to injuries, and the Philadelphia 76ers also dealing with injury concerns, the Heat may swoop in and return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2023.

Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan