Miami Heat: Are we underrating development of Chris Silva and KZ Okpala?

The Miami Heat are known for their scouting and development programs. So, are we underrating that and the players in it by clamoring for others?

The Miami Heat are known for their scouting and development programs. It’s literally nothing for the Miami Heat to find a guy in the second round, undrafted, or simply on the street after their first season and proceed to turn said guy into an NBA player.

It happens all the time. They are the New England Patriots of the NBA.

Here are three examples for submission. It actually encompasses one of each.

Duncan Robinson was the undrafted guy, but now he is arguably one of the best shooters in the league. Kendrick Nunn went undrafted and as a second-year guy technically, was biding his time in Golden State’s development program.

Although listed as a rookie this season, technically correct as the G-League and big leagues are looked at separately, this was actually his second year in the pros, so to speak. Lastly, let’s look at the $100 million dollar man, Hassan Whiteside.

The Miami Heat are known for their scouting and development programs. Will it provide two more young players for the Heat’s rotation this season?

Set up to get another nice payday in this offseason, Hassan was self admittingly, hanging around his local YMCA. We proceeded to take the flame out and turn him into one of the most productive bigs in the game.

These are facts. They cannot be denied.

With that thought, that leads us here. As the offseason progresses and after our tough NBA Finals bout with the Lakers, many of us Heat fans find ourselves clamoring for the pieces we think we need to add.

I would like to ask a question. Do we already have a few upgrades on the roster or in the system?

I am asking if we believe that Chris Silva and KZ Okpala can step up and become rotational guys… or more… for us next season? We say we need another big and possibly even an impact wing.

While they are both still young, they have been in this system a year or better and should be ready to contribute. While I don’t know if they can offer all that we will need, I do believe we are underrating their development across this year.

I expect to see one, if not both of them, as key contributors next season. So while we may need one piece, I believe we can also count on getting something from these two guys in the coming season.