Are undrafted players key to Miami Heat success?

Undrafted in 2002, Udonis Haslem‘s success gives the Miami Heat delusions of grandeur.

In case you missed it, the Miami Heat are well represented at the 2018 NBA Draft combine.

Team president Pat Riley and company flew to Chicago in the same way racoons scrounge around dumpsters. Without a pick in the 2018 draft, the Heat are forced to choose among the scraps left after the draft’s two rounds.

Undrafted players are stigmatized. Of course, making the league while going unselected is an incredible accomplishment, and one of which the Heat are acutely aware. Miami’s current franchise rebound leader, Udonis Haslem, went undrafted in 2002. To date, he stands as the only undrafted player to hold such a record.

Unfortunately for the Heat, Haslem’s success was a combination of an insatiable work ethic and great timing. Miami struck gold in finding him.

When Haslem joined Miami for the 2003-04 season, he had the company of the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Dwyane Wade. A future hall-of-famer, Wade was the foundation for Miami’s championship team three years later. With an explosive guard as the focal point, Miami surrounded Wade and Haslem with veteran pieces – Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Jason Williams, Antoine Walker – providing a stellar supporting cast to a pair of young guns.

Fifteen years after Haslem and Wade’s inaugural season, and Riley’s team building philosophy is much the same.

Trade picks. Get stars. Win rings.

Though 2018 is projected to be a phenomenal draft class, sifting through its undrafted remains may not provide the immediate, or eventual, relief Miami needs.

"“To be really honest with you, I’m not a draft pick guy,” Riley said in his exit interview. “You know that. We’ve got enough. We’ve got a good young core of players. We hope that one of the guys we really like that we can sign on July 1 might be tantamount to a first-round pick for us.”"

Miami’s most recent undrafted pickups have been serviceable, but have yet to transform the team into the cast that would attract free agents. Rodney McGruder has found himself trying to work his way into the rotation after his injury, and Tyler Johnson is busy rediscovering what made him the $50 million dollar man.

And the list continues.

The undrafted Derrick Jones Jr. had a few starts and victories for Miami this season, but his development from a raw athlete into a confident wing remains unseen. Though a fan-favorite last year, Okaro White was given the boot after his injury delayed his return to action.

While he wasn’t undrafted, the Hassan Whiteside experiment almost gave credence to Miami’s dumpster diving approach. It almost worked, but this year proved a rocky intermission into a transition to Whiteside rule.

For whatever reason, Miami has already been passed on by a few big names, and all signs point to the same happening this off-season. Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward turned down the glitz and income-tax free Miami, so why wouldn’t others?

At this point, Riley’s refusal to keep draft picks reeks of old man persistence. He’ll forever be the Godfather and can certainly prove doubters wrong this off-season. Maybe Miami strikes another Haslem who ignites the Heat’s championship trajectory.

Next: Miami Heat: Tyler Johnson’s contract breeds unfair comparisons

But for now, the Heat are gambling on the franchise’s future.