The Miami Heat have a very important season ahead of them. They just made a giant trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. And in the deal, they shipped out a huge chunk of their depth. Guys like Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, and Kasparas Jakucionis. Now, they’ll need players to step up. Even rookie Ryan Conwell.
Miami is used to having rookies play important roles. During Herro’s rookie campaign, the Heat made a run to the NBA Finals in The Bubble. But that year, few expected the Heat to be a legit Finals threat. After the Antetokounmpo trade, the Heat are definitely going to have championship expectations. And they need everyone on board to contribute.
That includes Conwell. He may have the most important rookie season in Miami since Herro, and even then, Herro began the year on a team that wasn’t expected to be in the title race. These Heat are. And Conwell is still going to be an integral part of things.
Ryan Conwell is facing most important Heat rookie season since Tyler Herro
Conwell was a second-round pick. Miami selected Herro with the No. 13 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He and Conwell entered the league in very different positions.
Being a lottery pick is very different from being a second-round pick, but for the Heat, anyone who can contribute will. And that’s exactly what the Heat need Conwell to do next year.
By trading Herro and Jakucionis, in particular, the Heat really gutted their point guard depth. They don’t have a ton of great guards left on their roster.
Right now, these are the guards the Heat have on their roster: Conwell, Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Myron Gardner, and Dru Smith. They also have Tre Donaldson on a two-way contract.
Mitchell will start, Larsson will play heavy minutes, and Hardaway is a proven sixth-man-level talent. Outside of that, none of the other guys are proven.
That’s where Conwell could come into play. The Heat drafted him for a reason. They clearly believe in him as a point guard, and perhaps even more notably, as a three-point shooter.
With that in mind, it seems likely that he will get a real chance to play from the jump if he puts the work in. And if he proves capable, he could be a rotation piece for Miami.
And with that in mind, he may just be the Heat’s most important rookie since Herro, and perhaps even before that when you consider the stakes heading into the season.
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