Inside The Heat

Kendrick Perkins says something ridiculous (again) about the Heat

Ethan J. Skolnick|
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Miami Heat

As ESPN introduces more strategy-oriented content about the NBA -- including Coaches' Corner with Tim Legler on which Erik Spoelstra recently appeared -- its talking heads aren't exactly slowing down with the crazy hot takes.

Kendrick Perkins, above all.

The former NBA center, who lost to the Miami Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals as Spoelstra and the Heat exploited his presence on the floor, unleashed a doozy while appearing on the Road Trippin' podcast with former NBA forward Channing Frye.

Perkins isn't alone in his skepticism of the Heat roster, as the team comes off a 37-45 season and is in transition to a younger rotation and a faster style without Jimmy Butler, under the guidance of United States men's national coach Erik Spoelstra.

Many observers have the Heat finishing in the play-in tournament again (between seeds 7 and 10 in the weaker Eastern Conference), and certainly they need to show they are capable of more.

But Perkins' assertion that "Bam Adebayo will not be in a Miami Heat jersey by the end of the year" flies in the face of anything anyone who covers the Heat knows about how much Spoelstra, in particular, values Adebayo.

Adebayo is the captain of the team for a reason, and while you can argue he doesn't produce as much offensively as others who earn a similar style, the Heat defense -- which Spoelstra focuses on more -- would fall apart with him. Spoelstra, who told Legler in his segment that Adebayo has improved every year offensively as well, has more personnel input in Miami than ever before. The Heat wouldn't trade Adebayo without his say-so, and he's not going to ever say-so.

The more relevant question is whether the Heat would move Tyler Herro, if they don't come to terms on a contract extension -- and even a trade of Herro is unlikely this season. But Adebayo isn't going anywhere until Spoelstra does. Perkins may know this, but.... clicks.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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