Miami Heat: Could Jalen Smith fall to them in the NBA Draft?
By Ivan Mora
The Miami Heat have a plethora of options at 20. Here’s why it should be Jalen Smith over anyone else though.
His basketball IQ is the difference-maker for his position. He’s a double-double machine that can shift his focus on defense and rim protection.
That is where Miami was exposed during the NBA Finals, while Smith also could be complementary to Bam Adebayo’s game. He can also space the floor well and has a smooth three-point shot with a good percentage for a 6’10’’ big.
His shot-blocking could be a trigger for the second unit’s run and gun transition game under both Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn. This is obviously taking into account that Miami will reward the full-time point guard position to Goran Dragic like it should’ve been from the start.
Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald tweeted earlier this week that Miami will indeed focus on big men in the draft, even granting some private workouts. That perhaps opens the door for a Smith to be in play.
I sincerely think Jalen Smith has the capacity to surprise down below and even if his defensive moves are a bit slow, he can endure the adjustment and train hard within the Heat’s culture to continue molding his game.
Now, some teams will be hesitant to draft a gem like Jalen due to his slow tendencies off the break. Despite his various modern forward attributes, he isn’t quick on lateral jumps defensively and has a hard time running guards out of the post.
That might be attractive to some coaches who are patient and could see this as a learning curve thing. Others though will surely see this as a detriment to his defensive skillset.
This is where the Heat can hope for a slip in the draft and mold a sharp athletic forward that can hopefully one day mirror the likes of a Serge Ibaka. If anything, they can pair him up with KZ Okpala to further build up their games in the development league hoping that one day they can become the future of the Miami Heat.
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It’s not a gamble if he’s still available at the 20th pick and judging by the holes in the Heats secondary lineup, Smith can be that tiny missing piece to their overall championship-contending puzzle.