Amid an up-and-down season for the Miami Heat, Bam Adebayo has remained a steady, influential force for the franchise that drafted him 14th in 2017.

That’s because the Spurs — reportedly Fox’s preferred trade destination — currently have nine tradeable first-round picks that they can include in a deal to the Heat’s one tradeable first-round selection. San Antonio also has young talent such as Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and others who it can add to any trade package for Fox.

Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem has made it clear in the past he has former teammate Bam Adebayo’s back. Now, Haslem is trying to motivate Adebayo, even if it takes some tough love. Haslem ranked his top five big men on a recent episode of NBA Today.

Led by NBA MVP candidate Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets have marched their way to fourth place in the West with a 25-16 record. After a 57-win 2023-24 season ended in a second-round exit, the Nuggets are looking to build a championship-caliber team.

The Nuggets vanquished the Heat in Jimmy Butler’s return from a seven-game suspension. Jamal Murray lit up everything in front of him. And Nikola Jokić had his 17th triple-double of the season. “I thought our guards did a hell of a job on [Tyler] Herro and [Duncan] Robinson,

James Harden (24), Norman Powell (23) and Ivica Zubac (25) all scored 20+ points in the loss, snapping LA’s two-game win streak. Kawhi Leonard played a season-high 28 minutes and finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block.

The Sixers did their part by beating the Bulls on Saturday night. Now, the rest of the league needs to help them out, just a little bit.

Coach Erik Spoelstra should find a way to put Alec Burks into the rotation. He’s a quality veteran and the team needs bodies since it can’t count on Jimmy Butler. Burks is the guy Spoelstra has forgotten about while Terry Rozier logs a good game as often as Pat Riley makes a public appearance.

Orlando Magic (24-23, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (22-22, eighth in the Eastern Conference)

The NBA announced the Western Conference starters for the 2025 All-Star Game, happening Feb. 16 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

This stretch of January around Martin Luther King Jr. Day is usually peak evaluation time in the NBA front-office world. It’s one of the milestone points where teams will have full-staff pow-wows and talk things out,

Alex Sarr keeps his spot at the top for a 3rd week in a row while a pair of new names make their way into the Top 10.