The NBA offseason has already brought the surprise of unexpected trades, max contracts and retirements; however, we can now add an alleged tussle between Miami Heat player Bam Adebayo and his former teammate, Tyler Herro, to the list as well.
Sports reporter and known insider, Shams Charania, told Sportscenter that the former teammates came to blows during Herro’s AAU team practice before being pulled away from one another. He alleges that Adebayo, who is the boyfriend of 5x WNBA champion A’ja Wilson, approached Herro and immediately struck him before words were exchanged between the two.
“The incident took place at a gym inside the Resorts World Casino in front of Herro’s AAU team,” the Athletic reports. “According to multiple sources who witnessed the incident and were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, Adebayo walked onto the courts and Herro said something to him. Adebayo approached Herro and, without hesitation, punched him. Herro’s AAU coach confronted Adebayo, and Herro yelled at his former teammate while being escorted out by security personnel. Both players left the scene on their own.”
The boys are fighting!!
Though neither of the players have publicly addressed the reported incident, fans are speculating that their beef could stem from Herro’s alleged disagreement with the Heat’s decision to trade him in order to acquire the Milwaukee Bucks’ franchise player, Giannis Antentokounmpo. According to a Heat fan page, alleged DMs between Herro and an unidentified person prove that the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year thought he was more valuable than Adebayo to the team’s success, naming himself as a larger concern for opposing defenses than his former teammate.
“I need help, not the other guy,” a social account reported to be Herro’s wrote. “If I’m healthy I’m the one who needs help, who did Cleveland prioritize taking away in the playoffs? Who did Boston prioritize taking away when Jimmy was hurt and we was the 8 seed?”
Adebayo and Herro played seven seasons for the Miami Heat together and seemed to have a good rapport during that time. With Bam posed to be a larger defensive weapon and Tyler bringing the team the offensive spark they needed after All-Star guard Jimmy Butler was traded to the Golden State Warriors, the Heat always seemed to be one major move away from being an actual contender in the Eastern Conference. The front office seemed to believe that one move didn’t need to include keeping Herro.
With Antentokounmpo and Adebayo already secured, the Heat are allegedly working to reunite the city of Miami with 4-time champion Lebron James, who confirmed that he’ll be returning to the league for another season but that he will no longer be part of the Los Angeles Lakers. James, alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, led the Heat to two championships during his four seasons with the organization.
It remains to be seen whether James believes Miami is where he should end his career as the assumption of many sports fans is that he intends to go out with one more championship to his name. But whether he goes or not, it doesn’t seem like Herro will be welcomed back with open arms either.
