MIA-PHX-SAS

[BBallFreak]

The thing that maybe makes this trade off for me is that I don't really like any of these players very much. The Castle and Durant issues have been covered at length in other threads, but I'll talk about Bam for a second.

Bam had a really great 2020-2021 season after managing to help the Heat make the Finals in 2020. But he has gotten worse literally every year since then. He has gone from a 110 TS+ to a 97 TS+ while his usage has not increased and his AST% has gone down significantly. This year, he was arguably not even the best player on a team that went 37-45. Admittedly, a lot of the role players on the Heat are pretty terrible, but Bam still did not have a good year last year. I don't think he's like much better than like the 10th best center in the NBA at best.

If your take on Bam is based strictly on his offense, you're missing who Bam actually is.

Okay, but Bam went from a very good offensive player to a not very good offensive player.

Okay but Bam is still an absolutely game changing defensive player. Bam should be a third option, no doubt, but his defense is stellar. No ifs ands or buts.

[HadAnEffectHere]

If your take on Bam is based strictly on his offense, you're missing who Bam actually is.

Okay, but Bam went from a very good offensive player to a not very good offensive player.

Okay but Bam is still an absolutely game changing defensive player. Bam should be a third option, no doubt, but his defense is stellar. No ifs ands or buts.

I'm just not ranking a 97 TS+ center on low-ish usage as some top 25 player in the NBA. He's around the 50th best player in the league.

[BBallFreak]

Okay, but Bam went from a very good offensive player to a not very good offensive player.

Okay but Bam is still an absolutely game changing defensive player. Bam should be a third option, no doubt, but his defense is stellar. No ifs ands or buts.

I'm just not ranking a 97 TS+ center on low-ish usage as some top 25 player in the NBA. He's around the 50th best player in the league.

Did you do the same thing with Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman, Dikembe Mutombo, and Draymond Green when they were at their peaks?

[penbeast0]

Spurs need the defense more than the offense if they are keeping Wemby, Fox, Vassell, and Harper is what people think he will be. Bam is not just the best player, he's even more what they need. They just cut Phoenix out here and let someone else deal with Durant. Bam plays PF; San Antonio wins with defense.

[One_and_Done]

Spurs need the defense more than the offense if they are keeping Wemby, Fox, Vassell, and Harper is what people think he will be. Bam is not just the best player, he's even more what they need. They just cut Phoenix out here and let someone else deal with Durant. Bam plays PF; San Antonio wins with defense.

Is Bam going to be cool coming off the bench for certain match ups? No? Then this probably isn't going to work for the Spurs. Wemby is a full time 5, so in some match ups the Spurs may need to play a 4 who has more range and perimeter D. Bam is more mobile than most 5s, so this could actually work, but not for every line-up.

The Heat aren't trading him in any event.