Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo Reveals He Was Almost Traded For Jimmy Butler

Adebayo made a recent appearance on J.J. Redick's podcast
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Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo almost never became teammates for the Miami Heat. 

In a recent interview on the J.J. Redick podcast, Adebayo revealed the Heat had plans on trading him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jimmy Butler in 2018. The Heat were in talks of acquiring Butler and Adebayo was part of the package. 

"You heard the Minnesota situation," Adebayo told Redick. "And it's crazy because I almost got traded for Jimmy, to Minnesota. I almost got traded for Jimmy, and Pat (Riley) wouldn't trade me. He was like, 'Nah, I see something good in this kid,'"

The decided to hold off on pulling the trigger. They eventually acquired Butler the following offseason. 

"At that point, I'm sweating bullets," Adebayo said. "I'm not trying to get traded. I like it in Miami, it's warm. I kind of got my feet wet. I’m familiar with the place.”

The move has paid off for the Heat. Butler has been an All-Star every year he's played in Miami. Adebayo is considered one of the top young players in the league. 

The two have helped the Heat earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They open the first round of the playoffs Sunday. 

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here