The Miami Heat have a specific goal in mind in approaching the NBA draft

NBA teams are scouring the Earth far and wide doing their due diligence on every draft prospect. Just what are the Miami Heat searching for though?

The Miami Heat are dead in the middle of their preparations for the upcoming NBA draft. Like many other teams, outside of the top 2 teams that pick in the draft, they are searching and prodding while hoping to learn as much about the players themselves as they are about their particular abilities.

When thinking about the Miami Heat though, team president Pat Riley has openly admitted in the past that the draft isn’t really his thing. He prefers to have known commodities or certainties, and any professional sport’s draft is all about uncertainty.

According to the Miami Herald though, the Miami Heat seems to have a significant interest in USC guard, Kevin Porter Jr. With all the game in the world, it is only character and personal concerns that may hinder him from being the Heat’s top pick, or a top pick in general. Even outside of Porter Jr. however, the Miami Heat do also seem to have an interest in seeing other players as well.

According to that same piece from the Miami Herald, the Heat also have a workout scheduled with Texas Tech guard Matt Mooney. He averaged 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists this past season for the National Championship runner-up Red Raiders.

In this quote from the piece, it also speaks about quite a few more prospects the Heat took a closer look at recently. Specifically, they saw these prospects at a “Priority Sports’ Chicago workout” this past Friday. Here’s the quote naming the nine prospects.

"Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke, Purdue two-time All American guard Carsen Edwards, Maryland power forward Bruno Fernando, Wisconsin power forward Ethan Happ, Virginia guard Ty Jerome, Nebraska forward Isaiah Roby, Tennessee swingman Admiral Schofield, DePaul guard Max Strus and Belmont swingman Dylan Windler, who averaged 21.3 points and shot 43 percent on threes last season."

There seems to be a theme arising here when you take a look at some of the names the Miami Heat seem to be interested in. From Porter Jr., to Mooney, to the players listed above, they all have something very important in common.

If you think back to the “known commodities” comment earlier in the piece, these players all are either veteran players at the last level or players who should have a great chance to come in and contribute to the Miami Heat right away. Riley is said to not be a fan of the draft, and although these players will all come by way of the draft or rookie free agency, he is a fan of immediate production from whoever he adds to the team.

If the list above, along with other prospects the Heat may take a look at, can indicate one thing more than any other, it’s that they are looking for immediate contributors. That is absolutely the right approach to take for a team that needs all the help they can get. This team could be very good, but they need more help in the scoring and shooting categories, and these prospects could all help in those areas.