What would it take for the Heat to move up in the NBA Draft?
By Wes Goldberg
How high up in the NBA Draft would a package of the No. 14 pick, and one of Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson or Tyler Johnson, get the Miami Heat?
By not tanking, the Miami Heat took themselves out of the running for a pick at the top of the NBA Draft lottery. But what if they wanted to trade up? What would it take for Miami to move up in the draft? Would they have to trade Justise Winslow? On Locked On Heat, Wes and David talk about that and more in part two of their mailbag.
Q: How high up the draft could packaging one of Winslow/ Tyler Johnson/ Josh Richardson and our pick get us? Do you think Riley would even be interested in doing that? – Sam Danes
A: Let’s start with the 10th pick, and speculate as to whether or not each team would take the 14th pick and one of those young players you mentioned in a trade.
Sacramento has the 10th pick. Would they take No. 14 and Justise Winslow for No. 10? I think they most certainly would. Then is Dallas at No. 9. I think they’d take Winslow or Tyler Johnson and 14. Tyler would fill a need for them in the backcourt, and Winslow would be a nice perimeter defender next to Harrison Barnes. New York at No. 8? No way Pat Riley and Phil Jackson get on the phone. Pass. What about Minnesota at No. 7? If Jonathan Isaac is off the board by then, the Timberwolves are a candidate to trade down in the draft. If that’s the case, a package of No. 14 and either Winslow or Josh Richardson could be enough to move up to No. 7. I don’t think the Heat can offer enough to move up any higher.
However, I don’t think the Heat should try to move up if it involves trading Winslow. Remember, he’s just two years removed from being select at No. 10 overall, and he’s as young as many rookies in this class. Trading him would be like trading two lottery picks for one. Given Miami’s shortage of picks, that’s a risky move unless Riley is absolutely enamored with a player selected earlier.
Trading a young player for an even younger rookie doesn’t seem like something Riley would do. He’s much more likely to try to move younger assets for veteran talent.
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Next: Mailbag Part 1: All-NBA fallout and fixing the draft lottery
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