Drafting Kevin Porter Jr. could fill void for Miami Heat

As we enter a new era of Miami Heat basketball, the organization needs the skills of USC’s Kevin Porter Jr. in the absence of Dwyane Wade.

Lotteries change lives. Whether it is the Mega Millions or the NBA Draft, the futures of families, individuals and organizations suddenly improves or fractures. That is how fragile the decision-making process is once those lottery balls land for all NBA teams, and no less for the Miami Heat.

Sure, the seats are barely cold in the AmericanAirlines Arena, but every Heat fan should be focused on what is next.

With the draft lottery odds of moving up–to No. 1 or No. 4–set at less than slim, Miami finds themselves in a position where they can atone for overlooking the scoring of Devin Booker the last time they had the No. 13 pick.

However, according to the Bleacher Report redemption could be coming in the form of the newly declared, Kevin Porter, Jr. of USC:

"“While Porter’s draft stock is all over the place, he’d be an enticing upside pick for a Heat team that’s stuck between tanking and competing… An explosive athlete with a 6’6″ frame, he has a standout physical profile and natural scoring ability fueled by shot-creating and shot-making skill.”"

It is safe to say that with the recent retirement of Dwyane Wade, the Heat have an obvious glaring need for someone who can create for themselves and score off the dribble when the team is under duress. Sorry, but Dion Waiters will never be that answer if his weight and consistency never balance out.

Now back to Porter.

The majority of draft boards have him ranked a pick or two after the Heat, mainly due to maturity concerns, injury questions, his 9.5 point per game average or a combination of all. However, the left-handed shooting guard has shown flashes with his isolation work, step backs and 47 percent shooting from the field coupled with 41 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Maybe this is what team president Pat Riley meant when he speculated that the impending draft could be deeper than people think.

The thing is, if Porter is the target, the Miami Heat will need him to fly under the radar. Hopefully not catching the momentum Donovan Mitchell collected when whispers began to bubble about the Heat selecting him at No. 14 in 2017. Only to have the Denver Nuggets draft the 11.7 point per game shooting guard for the Utah Jazz, one pick before.

Riley once said, he looked forward to working with the agents at Roc Nation Sports (for Justise Winslow), now he may them to feel the same way in order to help secure Porter.