Former Miami Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro had a brief verbal and physical altercation at a practice facility for the NBA's Summer League in Las Vegas on Friday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Adebayo struck Herro at least once during the encounter, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because neither player, nor their teams, revealed any details publicly.
Herro was traded to
the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this month in the deal that brought Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat, where he'll play alongside Adebayo, the Heat captain.
The Heat said they were aware that an incident took place and declined further comment. Herro spoke briefly to The Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel after a summer game between the Bucks and Heat, saying “my only comment is no comment.” Herro attended that game; Adebayo was not present for the contest.
ESPN first reported details of the altercation.
The person who spoke with AP said one of the factors related to the altercation was that Herro had evidently made some critical comments about Adebayo — and the three-year, $166 million extension that Miami gave him in 2024. Herro is believed to have made those comments in direct messages to someone on social media, and screenshots of those conversations eventually went public.
In other events in Las Vegas at summer league on Friday:
The Washington Wizards essentially have been holding team meetings in Las Vegas, with veterans at Summer League to watch No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa — and players such as Anthony Davis showing up to support Trae Young at the news conference discussing his $212 million, four-year deal.
Young seemed to enjoy the team bonding.
“I’m a people’s person,” Young said. “I think to be the best version of yourself, you've got to be in the most comfortable spot for yourself. I mean, surround yourself with the right people and the right things. And for me, just being around here (for) the few months that I was after I got traded, it just felt like this could be my next home. And I mean, that’s why I’m here.”
Young is a four-time All-Star who was sidelined by injuries for most of this past season, averaging just 17.9 points — more than seven points per game below his career average — in only 15 games with Atlanta and Washington. He made five appearances with the Wizards after getting traded to them by the Hawks, who had Young for his first 7 1/2 NBA seasons.
Young said he's heard the criticism of how much money the Wizards committed to him, insisting he's not bothered.
“I don’t really care about what other people think,” Young said. “I just care about what the people in this organization think, my teammates think and how we’re going to get better and how we’re going to find ways to win games. So, what everybody else has to say, I mean, it’s all irrelevant to me.”
Newly installed National Basketball Players Association executive director David Kelly lashed out at the second apron Friday, saying the union will fight it in the next collective bargaining agreement.
“We are not fans of the second apron,” Kelly said. “We did not propose the second apron. We should have done a better job of fighting back against the second apron, and in the future, we will have a much more unified union, and we will do a better of fighting it back against a second apron.”
Kelly was responding to a question surrounding something NBA veteran Kyle Kuzma wrote on social media earlier this month. Kuzma said “the first and second apron are starting to function like a hard cap on player value, team continuity, and player movement.”
Kuzma called on the union to raise its game and not, as he put it, have the league “continue to run circles around us time and time again with elite lawyers, economists, cap experts, media strategists, and long term business operators.”
Kelly took some issue with that, saying he did so respectfully.
“You don’t ever go into any sort of a competition trying to score as many points as your opponent,” Kelly said. “We do not need anyone who is equal to the NBA. The NBA is not the standard. We need people who will fight for us and force the NBA to raise their game to our standard.”
The current CBA is scheduled to remain in place through at least the 2028-29 season.
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