Nate Ament could emerge as a worthy high-risk, high-reward target for the Miami Heat in the 2026 NBA Draft, especially if this organization does trust its developmental system.
In FanSided's Christopher Kline's latest 2026 NBA Mock Draft, the Heat roll the dice on Ament with the No. 19 overall pick. Even though he's been a bit hit or miss so far this season, he has the high-end raw talent that should make him an appealing target for Miami.
As a 5-star recruit coming out of High School, he has tremendous talent that still hasn't been completely unlocked during his time at Tennessee. As one of the league's best developmental systems, there's reason to believe that Erik Spoelstra and the Heat could be a great landing spot for the talented forward.
Nate Ament could be a worthy risk for the Heat
In 15 games played this season for the Volunteers, Ament is averaging 15 points, seven rebounds, and three assists per game. However, he's only shooting 40 percent from the field overall and sub-30 percent from 3-point range.
Still, because of his size and versatility, it does feel as if his potential is through the roof. As Kline mentions, Ament certainly has things in his game to clean up, most notably his shot selection and defensive awareness, but this is a prospect that was getting top-5 draft love before the start of this season.
He's clearly no longer in that discussion, but it does speak to his overall potential as he prepares to make a likely jump to the NBA next season.
And with no stars on the way for the Heat, and with plenty of uncertainty revolving around their future, these are the types of draft risks that the team should be willing to take.
Perhaps most of all, these are the exact moments when a team just has to trust its system. The fact that the Heat rarely selects in the lottery, but continues to find ways to churn out hidden gems, tells you all you need to know about how good this team's scouring department has been of late.
Ament is far from a can't-miss prospect, but he does fall in line with players that you'd want to take a risk on late in the first round.
At the very least, Ament is one prospect that fans should already be keeping a close eye on. Especially if the Heat are going to lock themselves into a non-lottery pick this season.
And, hey, maybe Ament can turn into one of the Heat's next hidden draft gems.