The Miami Heat have some decisions to make this offseason. The team made an incredible run to the NBA Finals as an 8-seed out of the play-in tournament, but do they have what it takes to do it again next year? And the year after that? Pat Riley is asking these questions, and if he decides the answer is no, a shakeup could be on its way. And the best way to shake the team up is with a Bam Adebayo trade with the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of the NBA draft. Here’s why the Heat must at least consider that.

3. The Heat have reached their ceiling

The Heat’s 2023 NBA Finals run was one of the most improbable in NBA history. The team lost a play-in game, snuck into the postseason, and became just the second 8-seed in league history to make the Finals.

As with any Cinderella season, there was a little bit of luck involved. The three teams they beat in the East — the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and Boston Celtics — all had fatal flaws. Plus, if the Celtics didn’t completely no-show in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat would have been the first NBA team to ever blow a 3-0 lead.

And while Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were incredible in the playoffs, the team got massive contributions from relative unknowns like Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, and Caleb Martin, and almost-done veterans like Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love.

Lowry and Love may not have another year in them, Butler is 33, and Strus and Vincent are free agents.

All this adds up to the fact that this team, as currently constituted, made its best run in 2023 and is probably a second-round squad at best in 2024. Unless, that is, the team makes a major move, like with a Bam Adebayo trade to the Blazers.

2. The Bam Adebayo trade haul would be tremendous

What would a Bam Adebayo trade to the Blazers look like?

It would have to be massive. Adebayo only turns 26 in July and is one of the best two-way centers in the NBA right now. In fact, outside of the last two NBA MVPs, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, Adebayo is the best.

The Blazers are seemingly desperate to take one last stab at building a playoff contender around Damian Lillard, no matter how ill-conceived that is. So, with one team desperate and the other dealing from a position of strength, a Heat trade with the Blazers could return a huge haul.

A deal like this starts with guards Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons to match salaries with Adebayo. Sharpe had an excellent rookie campaign and looks like he has the potential to be a star. Simons is a near-star who few NBA fans know about, even though he averaged over 20 points per game last season.

The centerpiece of the trade, though, is the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Ideally, that would be for G League Ignite point guard Scoot Henderson (more on him below).

Additionally, the Heat could get the Blazers’ No. 23 pick as well and maybe a future first, although that is a bit more complicated as the team can’t trade anything firsts between now and 2028 unless they make a side deal with the Chicago Bulls.

So, the Heat get a full young, dynamic backcourt in Henderson, Sharpe, and Simons in one fell swoop, and with picks 18 and 23, Miami can take some young bigs to help replace Adebayo.

And at that point, you have an incredibly young (under contractual control) team around Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Jimmy Butler for his final years.

1. Scoot Henderson is a franchise-changer

The reason the Heat have been so good for so long is that Pat Riley has continually cycled in young and old stars together to create a continuous contender. When he had Dwyane Wade, he brought in Shaquille O’Neal. And when he had Adebayo, he brought in Jimmy Butler.

Now, with Butler and Herro still in the fold, Riley has a chance to bring in another potential superstar in Scoot Henderson. The 19-year-old PG is everything a team wants in a franchise leader. He is an incredible scorer and facilitator, and he has that nasty competitive streak that Riley and the Heat love.

Adebayo is an incredible player, but he is a second banana at best. When Butler eventually walks away, you can’t build a championship contender around the young center as the best player.

On the other hand, you can absolutely do that with Scoot Henderson.

So, with a chance to get Henderson, who could easily be the next Wade, Riley has to at least consider a Bam Adebayo trade with the Blazers as the 2023 NBA Draft approaches.