The NBA Draft is a little over two weeks away, and the Miami Heat find themselves in a fascinating spot with the No. 20 pick. Plenty of trade rumors involve the Heat trading away the pick in an effort to win now and worry about the rest later.
But there will be some valuable players available at the No. 20 pick if the Heat choose to keep it, and one player they might have to make a choice on is Liam McNeeley, out of UConn.
Liam McNeeley could be available at No. 20
McNeeley is a 6-foot-7 forward who fits the bill of a modern NBA wing. He is a willing three-point shooter who is at his best when he can catch and shoot. He also has a knack for getting to the free-throw line and shoots 86 percent once he gets there.
As a freshman at UConn, McNeeley averaged 14.5 points per game in 32 minutes per game. His most notable performance was the 22 points he scored against the Florida Gators in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament to almost upset Florida in a 77-75 loss.
Defensively, he can guard anyone from the 2-4 spot and is considered to have a high work rate on the defensive end.
Is McNeeley going to fall to the Heat?
Some mock drafts floating around have had McNeeley as a lottery pick, but increasingly, he seems to be viewed as someone who will be picked in the 20s.
So if McNeeley does fall to No. 20 should the Heat pull the trigger?
If we had our way, the answer is no.
Going back to his three-point shooting, he shot just 31% from three during the 2024-25 season. If he had a strong inside game, we could look past this, but this is where the real problems for McNeeley start to emerge.
Nothing on film for McNeeley jumps out as an explosive finisher. Even though he is 6-foot-7, his wingspan is just 6-foot-8, and he made finishing at the rim look like a chore. It's not an accident that his overall shooting percentage was just 38%.
McNeeley feels like he's just a guy who happens to be 6-foot-7 and can kind of shoot the three sometimes. The big men of the NBA are going to eat him alive on the inside if he doesn't improve, and his three-point shooting isn't going to be enough to save him.
If the Heat wants a forward rather than a guard, there are better options at this spot with better long-term potential.