Miami Heat: What the Heat Should Do With a First-Round Pick
By Ehsan Kassim
Mar 31, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) is fouled by San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green (14) during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
We’ve all seen Riley’s impatience of dealing with draft prospects, which has only been made worse recently with the lack of development by past first round picks like Michael Beasley, Norris Cole, and Shabazz Napier in a Heat uniform.
A lottery pick would also give Pat Riley a valuable trade chip to use to make improvements on his roster, since he’s unlikely to have much cap room even if Luol Deng opts out of his contract.
Draft picks carry value in today’s NBA. Which is exactly why Pat Riley could turn around and spin this draft pick in a trade to acquire another veteran.
Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, and James Ennis have begun to carve out bigger roles in recent games in the Heat rotation. All three are young players with upside that is not easy to find in the NBA. Whiteside owns a 26.2 PER in his 45 games of play. If he qualified, he’d ranked in the top six with that ridiculous number, ahead of even LeBron James.
These 3 players have made the Heat need for a young player less of a priority this off-season. Instead, the team can focus solely on adding a player that gives the team a better chance of contending against the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers or Atlanta Hawks at the top of the Eastern Conference.
With Goran Dragic expected to resign, Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng expected to opt into their contracts, the Heat will have very little cap space this summer to sign a free agent.
However, if Riley lands a top 10 pick, he could potentially combine a Josh McRoberts or Mario Chalmers, along with the pick to attempt a sign-and-trade trade for a free agent that is going to leave his team regardless.
The Heat lacked an adequate back-up for when Wade uses his rest days for his bulky knees this year and that will likely be a weak spot on the roster heading into the off-season again.
A radical idea that could to fruition this off-season, the Heat making a hard run at Danny Green of the San Antonio Spurs. While the Heat won’t have the salary cap to sign Green straight up, a sign-and-trade with the Spurs could potentially play out.
A sign-and-trade of Danny Green plus a future 1st round pick for Josh McRoberts and the Heat’s 2015 first round pick could satisfy both side.
A lottery pick would aid the Spurs to add some more youth and continue to build around the immensely talented Kawhi Leonard, as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli head to the twilight of their careers. McRoberts would be an upgrade over the 35-year old Matt Bonner, who has been a key cog in the Spurs finals runs the past two seasons.
The Heat would add a shooter on a team that desperately needs one to fit along Dragic and Wade. Green would start the games that Wade would have to miss and help the Heat not skip a beat in those games.
A Danny Green-to-Miami scenario is as unlikely as any this off-season, but it is something that is fun to give some thought to.
The Danny Green idea is just a thought. The Heat could go a number of routes with this idea. Players that we don’t know are going to be available could become available by the summer.
As Ethan Skolnick pointed out when the Heat acquired Goran Dragic from the Suns, Pat Riley is an expert in trading for players that need rescuing from their situation. He just needs a player to grow unhappy with his current organization and he can swoop in.