Achiuwa pick by Heat a relief
Achiuwa gives Heat and Adebayo some much-needed help
The Bam Adebayo Relief Fund received a significant contribution during Wednesday night’s NBA draft. That, alone, made the selection of Memphis big man Precious Achiuwa with the No. 20 choice a net gain for Pat Riley and the Miami Heat.
For all the Heat accomplished behind the play of Adebayo during last season’s run within two victories of an NBA championship, it became increasingly apparent that there were no easy answers for coach Erik Spoelstra when Adebayo was offthe court.
At times, Spoelstra attempted to get by with 36-year-old Andre Iguodala as an undersized center.
At other times, minutes were bought with spot duty in the middle from lumbering Meyers Leonard.
Now, even in the rawest of one-and-done prospects, there is the opportunity for Adebayo to catch his breath without the Heat left gasping for answers.
It was something Heat icon Dwyane Wade noted from a far, and something Heat captain Udonis Haslem took stock of from the bench during the postseason.
“We talked about what the Heat needs,” Wade said on NBA TV of his pre-draft conversation with Haslem, “and the one thing we talked about was Bam. Bam is taking a beating down there. So [it benefits] tohave somebody that can come in and kind of play the same way.”
It was a shortcoming that Riley also took note of during the NBA Finals, as he watched, socially
distanced, froma concourse at DisneyWorld.
“I think in the playoffs there was a time when size hurt us,” Riley said. “Offensive rebounding, the paint, shot blocking all of those things, wemighthavesomebody here that can fill that void.”
Achiuwa not only accepts the comparisons, he is anxious to get started at Adebayo’s side, with the Heat opening trainingcamp the firstweek of December.
“I just look forward to learning fromhimeveryday, constantly developing my game and just asking questions and learning,” he said.
Wade said he’s sees the potential for the Heat’s development program to mold something close to an Adebayo 2.0.
“He’s a young Bam,” Wadesaid. “Comingin, Bam couldn’t shoot early on. He was real athletic, great roller to the rim, great shot blocker.
“This kidcandevelop into what Bam has now developed into. I love this pick for us because it’ssomething thatweneedandsomething that Bam needs to continue to stay at that All-Star level.”
Memphis assistant coach Cody Toppert said reasonable NBA comparisons for Achiuwa are Adebayo, Los Angeles Clippers big manMontrezl Harrell and, intriguingly, also to another emergingNBAstar.
“I think when he slides to the small-ball five that he has a lot of dynamic traits that those guyshave, Bamin dribblehandoffs, Bamcatching rebounds and pushing in the break,” Toppert said during a recent podcast. “And then same thing with Montrezl.
“But thenwhenyoureally think about it, his ability to kind of stretch the floor and play on the outside, if he continues to improve his feel, he’s got an opportunity tohave a littlePascalSiakam in there. So I think we’re going to see him sprinkle all those different elements together and really become ahybrid version of himself.”
For now, figure on plenty of study hall with Heat shooting coachRob Fodor.
“His release is great,” Toppert said of Achiuwa’s oft-questioned shooting. “He’s working on his balance. He’s working on controlling his hips. He does a pretty significant right-hip rotation, a counterclockwise rotation, when he shoots. I think once he gets that under control and his balance is right there, you’re going to see great upside forhimtobe anNBA 35-percent 3-point shooter, plus. AndI think that’sprobably the goal.”
For now, offering relief to Adebayo would be more than a satisfactory objective.
“When Bam came here,” Riley said, “he had a limited menu of things that Coach Spo gave him in the beginning, because you didn’t want to confuse him with too much stuff and just let him play with great energy andreboundanddefendand all of those things thatcome natural to him.
“We’ll do the same thing with Precious. We won’t force him to be something that he’s not. But I think we can get the best out of him. I don’t think there’s a better team in the league that develops players in a conscientious manner than we do. I’m not saying that he’s going to be a knockdown 3-point shooter, but hecan. He has a nice stroke.”
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