The Miami Heat’s success makes its NBA Draft choice harder

Continued winning from the Miami Heat will leave them in limbo with their first round pick options.

Lonzo Ball, Jonathan Isaac and Jayson Tatum. With every NCAA tournament exit, another elite lottery prospect declares for this June’s NBA Draft, leaving Miami Heat fans with a paper trail of names of what they could have had.

Instead the Heat find themselves in the midst of a late-season run that could land them as high as fifth place in the playoffs. However with that comes the confusion of what sort of quality will be available outside of the lottery.

What many perceived as Miami’s last draft blunder–picking Justise Winslow over Devin Booker–has been discussed at nauseam for its plus and minuses. Some of which were pointed out with a not-so veiled I told you so following Booker’s 70-point outing versus the Boston Celtics.

Forget making up for missed opportunities. The mystery for the Heat, now, becomes can they find quality as low as they may fall in a top-heavy draft.

Picking outside of the lottery, to the late teens, could possibly net the Heat talent, but not necessarily youth–as the best available player may be a junior or senior. Draft Express, for example, doesn’t list its first upperclassman in its prospect rankings until no. 13. While all the projected lottery picks are 20 or younger, six of the prospects between 13 and 23 — where the Heat will likely pick — are beyond their freshman season.

In other walks of life a mature 22 or 23 year old would be looked at as a job asset. In sports, age on an incline is often at times looked at as a detriment because those players usually have less upside left to explore. You can find untapped talent at the age, like when Miami plucked Rodney McGruder out of the D-League, but McGruder’s upside is admittedly limited.

However, for a team with few assets and few options to land a super star, this summer’s draft might not be heavy with high upside where the Heat will be selecting.

So if that is the case, what should the Heat do?

Over the past few years, Pat Riley has become infamous for moving the organization’s draft picks, leaving his team stuck with no real first-round talent. However the consequences of the Goran Dragic trade, which left them in debt to the Phoenix Suns next year, means the Heat cannot rid themselves of this June’s first rounder due to the consecutive year trade rule.

Next: Miami Heat's NBA Draft Board

The alternative would be to pick for someone else and possibly package that player with one of their own for someone who could help, following the draft. Or not.

The Heat will have a tough decision to make, but hopefully for fans it will not turn out as second-guessed as their Winslow selection.