Alade Aminu Called-Up From The D-League To The Miami Heat

Alade Aminu, 22-year old big man for the Bakersfield Jam, will be called up to the Miami Heat according to sources close to the situation.  Since a mid-season to the Jam from the Erie BayHawks, Aminu has averaged 19.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.2 steals in 33 minutes of action.  In Aminu's most recent game, Thursday, Aminu scored 23 points and added 10 rebounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder-owned Tulsa 66ers.

Here is what I wrote about him after a game on January 18th:

Alade Aminu is probably going to get a call-up in April.  Not necessarily because he's ready, but because he has what some in the business call 'ridiculous upside.'  If there was a stat that combined youth+athleticism+length+untapped potential, Aminu would lead the D-League.  Honestly, he's just hard to guard when his head is in the game.  Yesterday, he put up 22 points and 10 boards, which is about what he should average.  In reality, he averages a disappointing 13.3 points and seven boards.

I was five days off, but I'm still counting this one as a point for me.

Aminu, the brother of future first round pick Al-Farouq Aminu, has what most believe to be the most Ridiculous Upside© of any D-League player this season.  Although Aminu probably isn't ready to contribute to Miami yet, he has great size (6-foot-10, 235), amazing length and is simply an athlete with an obviously large amount of potential to continue to tap into as well.

As of now, he's mostly an offensive contributor as his defense and rebounding could still use a lot of work.  I don't want to label him as lazy, but it seems when he really puts his mind to it, he can be great at both.  However, sometimes it seems as if he's just on the court and doesn't really get involved like he should when he's not on the offensive end.

Regardless, this is a great call up for a team that is already familiar with his game.  After not getting many minutes at the Vegas Summer League with the Washington Wizards,  the Heat grabbed Aminu for the preseason. Unfortunately for the rookie, after just two preseason games - both DNP's - he was cut.  While it seems the Miami brass didn't feel he was ready at the time, this is a great call-up to secure his rights for the upcoming offseason as well as giving them some depth in case an injury happens during their playoff run.

For more on Aminu, I encourage you to check his DraftExpress profile, as Jonathan Givony and company have been quite high on him for some time.