AUCH Roundtable: Drafting best All-Miami Heat team from 2000 & beyond
Round 5
Rahmeaun
Pick 17 (5th round, 1st pick): 2019-2020 Meyers Leonard
This was an easy pick for me as I assumed there was no way another person would take him before me, so I left him to my second to last pick to round out my starting five. Since I didn’t necessarily get floor spacing with the Mason pick, I needed to make sure I did so with my center.
Meyers Leonard fits the mold perfectly. He’s shot above 40-percent for three consecutive seasons on increased attempts. In case you forgot, he was leading the NBA at one point this season in 3-point percentage.
With guys like James and Hardaway attracting heavy attention from the defense, he should be even more open than he is with Jimmy Butler on the court. He’ll play down low on defense with those great loud call-outs we’ve grown accustomed to, but on offense, he’ll have the green light from behind the arc.
Max
Pick 18 (5th round, 2nd pick): 2012-2013 Shane Battier (Game 7 NBA Finals version)
As I said that every team needs a James Posey, you also need a Shane Battier! Especially if we are talking the 2013 NBA Finals Game 7 version of Battier!
Battier is the perfect role player for my team or any team, just like Posey. Both guys know their roles and will do extremely well in them.
Having people that know their roles in any sport or job always makes life easier. Also and again specifically on that Game 7 version of Shane Battier, I’m taking him every time!
Tristan
Pick 19 (5th round, 3rd pick): 2004-2005 Damon Jones
With pick 19, I had my eyes set on the 2000-01 version of Tim Hardaway that had slipped more than I had imagined it would, even though it was a watered-down version of the guard we all know. With his selection at pick 16, I had to get creative.
Ultimately for me, it was between Damon Jones, Mario Chalmers, and Jason Williams with this pick, I safely landed on Jones.
Jones’ one season in Miami is never mentioned, but he put up his career-best numbers here. The guard put up 11.6 points per game and 4.3 assists per game, very similar numbers to who some might think would have been an obvious choice in Williams.
The guard started 66 games for the Heat and shot 43% from downtown on six attempts per game. Jones was a good enough distributor in his time with the Heat that the difference between him and any of the other point guards was negligible in that aspect, while his shooting was better than anything available. In fact, his shooting marks are among the best in Heat history, so take that for a sleeper pick.
Kenneth
Pick 20 (5th round, 4th pick): 2004-05 Lamar Odom
Lamar Odom was only with the Miami Heat for one season, this 2004-05 season, but he made the most of it. While it is arguably his best complete season as a pro, it is at worst, a top-three season for his career.
Odom is a guard in a power forwards body and while he would slot in as the four for my lineup, he would be able to have free reign of the ball and the floor if he wanted it. Being able to create for himself and others at a very high rate, while also having the ability to do the things defensively that not many others can, he would be an ideal pairing next to Shaq.
The team would practically be positionless, with no true point guard, allowing everyone to initiate offense at some point except Shaq. L.O. would certainly see his fair share of the lead guard duties with this squad though.