Kevin Porter Jr.-University of Southern Cal(6’6-218 lbs)
Kevin Porter Jr. of USC is all of a sudden all the rage in the world of Miami Heat fans. Needless to say, they are not wrong. What you like about Porter Jr. is that he is a very adept all-around offensive player.
Porter Jr. is a good three-point shooter, where he shot 41 percent from deep on last season. He has a silky smooth handle on the rock and not just an arbitrary one either. Porter Jr. can use his handle to get anywhere on the court that he wants to, but the key is that when he does get to his spot, he finishes. He has shown a penchant to finish strong above the rim, below the rim, in transition, or in the half court through traffic.
If you also incorporate the fact that he does all this as a lefty, it makes him an almost can’t miss prospect for his offensive abilities and size alone. What also sticks out about Porter Jr. are his reported character concerns. Even with all of the talent and skill he would possibly bring to the table, there are still mock drafts available that have him as an early second round pick.
With him having the talent and abilities that he has, there is no way he should stick around that long, unless there is some truth to the issues he has dealt with. If the Miami Heat do their homework, which they surely will and this guy checks out or seems like he has the ability to put his reported character issues behind him, they should definitely take a shot.
He checks the boxes on exactly what the Heat should be looking for in scoring and outside shooting, plus his talent screams top 10 pick. If he is there at 13, and they like what they saw and heard during the pick and prod interview process, they should jump on him.
Verdict: If he checks out character-wise, a home run for the Miami Heat, take him fast.
The Miami Heat surely have their hands full with this process. Take the best player available? Draft for need? Trade back to acquire more picks and talent?
These are all questions that they are surely asking themselves right now with quite a few holes to fill and needs to address, but if they want to know what the fans think they should do, these are the guys they are looking at. Let’s hope they make the best decision for the betterment of the frachise because Heat Nation might explode if they miss on the 13th overall pick.