With the NBA Draft Lottery in the books, the Miami Heat will keep the no. 10 pick overall. So, what’s next? Pat Riley and his entourage have been getting a head start on their homework. Knowing they had an 87 percent change to retain the pick, they went to Spain to scout international prospects and met with wing players during the scouting combine last week.
Among those wing players was Kansas small forward Kelly Oubre. Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post has more on their meeting:
"“It was great. He’s a legend who has coached greats in the past, and seeing what he knows about the game of basketball is something I would never take for granted. I listened to every single thing he said. I asked him a couple questions, also, to see if I could pick his brain for things I need to know about my future.“One of the things that stuck out to me was he said, ‘If you want to play for us, you’ve gotta be in the best shape of your life.’ I like to run and gun. If I’m running, I’m scoring in transition, and that’s what I do best.”"
And then there was the meeting with Kentucky’s Devin Booker, who many consider to be the best 3-point shooter in the draft.
Devin Booker calls himself best shooter in draft. Met with Pat Riley. "It was a great vibe. I could feel the Big Blue nation."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) May 15, 2015
Devin Booker met w/ #Heat. Says Riley told him Wade is in the final phase of his career and he could learn under him.
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) May 15, 2015
So is a wing player in Miami’s future? Some of the experts seem to think so, with DraftExpress.com projecting Oubre to the Heat and Zach Harper of CBS Sports predicting the same.
The Heat are already thin at the position, and Luol Deng could still opt out of his contract and put the Heat is a tough situation to find a replacement. Miami doesn’t have a lot of cap space available, whether Deng opts out or not, and the draft offers a cheap way to replace him with top level talent (though, admittedly, not top level experience).
Meanwhile, others believe the Heat will look to bolster its front court. CBS Sports’ Sam Vecenie and Gary Parrish have Texas center Myles Turner heading to Miami in the draft, while some have the Heat taking Wisconsin power forward Frank Kaminsky.
While drafting a center or power forward may seem like a waste for a Heat team featuring Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside in the front court, there are two main reasons why drafting a bigman now makes sense:
1. Whiteside’s contract expires at the end of next season and will join the vaunted free agent class of 2016. It’s no guarantee the Heat will re-sign him.
2. A big could very well be the best player available by the time the Heat are on the clock.
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Not to mention that the Heat could add some youth to the current crop of backup dancers. Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem aren’t getting any younger and Josh McRoberts has struggled with injuries for most of his career.
There is also the possibility that the Heat trade the pick. Well, not really. They can’t trade the pick, due to the Stepien Rule (which prohibits teams from trading consecutive first round picks, and since Miami owes its pick to the 76ers next season…well) but they can trade the player that they choose at no. 10. Ah, loop holes. With Pat Riley, who has stated his preference for veteran players over rookies on multiple occasions, this is certainly a possibility.
If Miami feels it’s ready to compete for a spot in the NBA Finals next season, its draft selection will be its most valuable, moveable asset (outside of Whiteside). A deal built around, say, McRoberts and the no. 10 overall pick to the Denver Nuggets for Wilson Chandler, for example, fills a short term need and nets Miami an impact player.
The Heat have a lot of options at no. 10 and, after fast forwarding to its title window with the acquisitions of Whiteside and Goran Dragic, what they do with the pick will play a pivotal role in how the next few seasons play out. We’ll find out what happens on June 25.