Tag Archive for: Miami Heat

Breaking Down Miami’s Offense with Kyle Lowry and PJ Tucker

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The Miami Heat had a pretty eventful start to free agency on Monday night, as they secured their expected target, Kyle Lowry, while also signing a guy who wasn’t really being discussed, PJ Tucker.

This piece will be a little different than usual. I’ve already dove into the strengths of Lowry in Miami here, which is why I’m going to highlight what Tucker can bring to the table. To touch on Lowry in a different light, I’m going to breakdown some of the different sets Miami can form around him to maximize his offensive abilites.

Those weren’t the only moves that Miami made, since they also retained Duncan Robinson, Dewayne Dedmon, Max Strus, and Gabe Vincent. And well, they’re not done yet.

But before more of that speculation continues, let’s hop right into what the newest acquisitions will look like in a Heat uniform…

Defensive Stopper

The first thing I want to mention about Tucker is something you will notice when evaluating all three of these traits: he’s simple. The Miami Heat essentially need simplicity at that four spot, since they needed a guy who doesn’t stray off from his role often and somebody that you know what you’re going to get from night to night.

Tucker seems to fit that description perfectly.

To start it off on the defensive end, Erik Spoelstra is beginning to load up on defensive weapons, and it eliminates the need for him to stick a power forward on opposing point guards. A focus on front-court pairings, in my opinion, was that they needed a guy who could size up defensively instead of sizing down.

Miami has their point of attack defender now, in Lowry, meaning some size down low even without the length is important.

Even though people may want to look at the stat-sheet of Kevin Durant in the Bucks-Nets series, Tucker did his best to make his life difficult, since that’s all you can do against Durant. He can defend the post on those guys, use his hands actively for steals, and is just a physical body that you trust on that end.

In a Heat sense, Tucker really made Jimmy Butler’s life difficult in that opening playoff series as well, which it’s hard to truly get under Butler’s skin in that type of fashion. Just with the defensive stuff alone, Tucker seems like a pure fit.

The Heat needed more leadership and toughness at that position, and they got just that yesterday.

Spot-Up Threat

Once again, Tucker is not going to shine in certain offensive clips due to him being such a “simple” player. He’s not going to have a high number in the PPG column, but that doesn’t mean he won’t maximize spacing with his corner presence.

In 20 regular season games with the Milwaukee Bucks this past season, he shot slightly under 40% from three on 1.7 attempts per game. If Miami can get the Jae Crowder three-point boost that they did in their finals run, many of these things change quite a bit.

Retaining Duncan Robinson is very important to remember in these discussions. Yes, Tucker can stretch the floor on offense or locate in different spots, but more importantly he’s an unselfish player who can takeover the Adebayo lite role.

Trying to pry away Adebayo from full DHO mentality can consist of Tucker’s big body screening for Robinson in the high pick and roll. The reason that’s important to note is that can shift into a pick and pop type of play-style, while Adebayo can become more of an off the catch player on the weakside in those sets.

Tucker is a guy Erik Spoelstra will 100% trust at the end of games. Not just to hit a clutch corner three. Not only to get a stop. But to make the right play and keep others accountable in the leadership role.

Bam Adebayo Complement

The last thing that should be mentioned about Tucker is that he won’t just be a corner spacer. The continued theme of this piece is offensive versatility and giving Erik Spoelstra some options. And well, Tucker is a guy he can move around for others to become more effective.

One way to do that is by sticking him in the dunker spot (great podcast by the way) so he can fight on the offensive boards a bit, and more importantly, complement Adebayo in the offensive flow.

Adebayo has had an interesting ride with front-court pairings over the last few years: Meyers Leonard to Jae Crowder to Andre Iguodala to Kelly Olynyk to Trevor Ariza. The thing that all of those guys have in common is that they’re purely supposed to be used on the perimeter.

Allowing Adebayo to roam a bit more or expand his range is much smoother when a Tucker type is on the roster to locate in the interior. I’d expect him to get moved around much more than previous fours, and that’s a good thing for the team’s formation of Adebayo taking the next offensive step.

How will Miami use Kyle Lowry in the Offense?

The Downhill Finder

Now, on the Lowry side of things, we already know what he’s going to bring to the offense. Some three level scoring, play-making burden, and off-ball capabilities. But how will they base certain offensive actions around him?

The first one involves a potential connection with Adebayo, and this isn’t just about the pocket pass. As teams begin to blitz Lowry a bit more down the line, that one ability creates constant 4 on 3 opportunities on the back-side.

Aside from that, take a look at the play above for an example of how it will be used. An Adebayo hand-off to Lowry will kick it off, and against a switching defense, that floating pass over the top is the go-to. Why is that important? Well, Miami finally has a guard who can make that “floating pass.”

When defenses mix it up and pick up the rolling Adebayo, that will allow Lowry to get into his strengths. He’s such a fantastic pick and roll reader, meaning he knows when he can flow into his quick trigger beyond the arc once the defense doesn’t immediately react.

This is just some stuff that will be used with the ball in Lowry’s hands, and that may not even be his biggest overall strength.

Guard Screening

I’ve touched on this before, but there’s a reason that Goran Dragic-Jimmy Butler PnR’s were their most effective offensive set last season to a degree. Either normal pick and rolls or inverted pick and rolls, it got Jimmy Butler flowing downhill one way or another.

He either used the angled screen to his advantage for a strong attack, or caught an over-head pass on the roll by the basket. The Lowry-Butler combo can take that to another level.

Butler isn’t the only guard screener that will be used though, since a Robinson-Lowry duo feels to be the more commonly used set moving forward.

Looking at the clip above, that’s where I see that combo working. Robinson flashing up for a screen before slipping it, but obviously it would look much different. There wouldn’t be that slight hesitance, as there was above, when it’s Robinson shifting to the wing, and that just makes Lowry’s job so much easier.

Guard screening will be their ticket to success in the offense, in my opinion, and they now have that correct bunch of guards to make it work.

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

As much as people want some different offensive scenery or a total revamp, that is just unrealistic. There’s a misconception about the dribble hand-off after Adebayo’s continued willingness to use it instead of score, but that action won’t just be eliminated. If anything, it will be expanded.

Robinson and Lowry on the same roster basically means DHO’s will need to be a semi-staple at times, but as mentioned before, it could be more of a Tucker designation.

Looking at the clip above, you can see Lowry’s ability to fire on the catch from anywhere on the floor off those hand-offs, and that one thing bends the defense greatly. In the off-ball role that I expect him to be in at times, he can be used as a threat off Adebayo and Butler play-making. Or better yet, he will be in the Robinson lite role when he exits the floor.

In the second clip above, it’s another example of keeping the main thing the main thing, as Pat Riley likes to say. They’re going to find ways to continually get him flowing downhill for hard drives and buckets, but the motion offense feels like it’ll benefit Lowry greatly.

As seen above, sending guys like Butler on streaks down the lane seems like the perfect way to utilize Lowry to the best of his abilities. These are just a few examples, but one thing this shows is that Spoelstra finally has some extra options to go to.

Although this move feels like the perfect way to propel Adebayo as a scorer or grab a close friend of Butler, the true winner here is Coach Erik Spoelstra.

 

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How Could Miami Maximize Spacing if DeMar DeRozan was Acquired?

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After some in Five Reasons Sports have reported that Miami’s trying to figure out a way to reunite DeMar DeRozan with Kyle Lowry in Miami, it raised a question about the potential fit.

On a team with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the next pieces should be able to stretch the floor a bit to maximize spacing for this group, which is basically where I stood for a long period of time. But when a player of DeRozan’s caliber comes available in Butler’s window, that’s a hard player to pass up, and I honestly believe Erik Spoelstra can make it work.

So, since I’ve discussed individual players so frequently in the past, let’s dive into something a little bit different in this one. How can Miami make that type of unit work on the offensive end with three guys who can’t truly shoot the 3 ball?

One-On-One Frenzy

For starters, DeRozan is no Ben Simmons when it comes to the way that he’s guarded from an offensive standpoint. His overall scoring abilities are so deadly, that teams are forced to play up on him out on the perimeter, which makes things much more interesting.

That means when he’s the ball-handler in certain sets, the only guy to mainly worry about is Butler. Adebayo stationed in the dunker spot or the elbow, Lowry on the wing, and the 4 that will be added in the corner. The reason I gave two options for Adebayo is because it allows them to use Butler loosely.

If they put Adebayo on the elbow as a screener, Butler can be used in the dunker spot in certain possessions to roam the baseline a bit, which actually sounds pretty intriguing with the other creators on the floor.

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Back to DeRozan, though, teams will continue to defend him by going under screens constantly. They’re going to press up, but they will duck under inside the arc to cut off any chance at a hard drive.

Looking at the clip above, this is what it would look like essentially. A screen for DeRozan with the defender going under, as he immediately pulls up for the easy mid-range. The secondary options would be a dump-off to Adebayo, which allows him to play-make from mid-court. Above, you can see the wing defender edging over in the “Lowry” spot, which is why a major key to offensive success would be to run things through DeRozan frequently at the top of the key.

He’s an absolute problem in one-on-one situations in isolation, but the question is if there’s enough outside gravity to eliminate constant doubles, which I’ll touch on down the line.

Occupying Post Touches

I truly believe many are thinking about this type of stuff way too generally when talking about “spacing.” DeRozan is a guy that loves to occupy the post with his tough fadeaways and creative moves to get to the basket, which fits well with Miami’s play-style.

Looking at the play above, the point many would argue is that there’s three guys on the perimeter on this possession, which wouldn’t be possible with that Miami lineup. Well, that is wrong.

Help-side defenders on the wing will always duck down to the nail in these situations, no matter if that guy is Lowry or Butler on that right wing. There seems to be this perception that just because Butler stations himself in that area, defenders can just freelance, which is entirely inaccurate.

DeRozan is a guy that can create his own shot on these post touches, but can also play-make over the top of guys with his lengthy build. If a defense was to send an instinctive double in that state of mind, that ball would be relocating to either Adebayo or Butler, which leads to a rotational frenzy with their type of play-making.

Yes, I definitely believe a guy who has the three-ball unlocked makes things much easier in the offense, but twenty-two point per game scorers shouldn’t just be overlooked due to that primary strength. If anybody can make it work, it’s Erik Spoelstra, and as seen above, I don’t believe it will be as complicated as some may think.

The Bam Adebayo Element

To expand on those previous points, I want to give a quick example to the way Adebayo could benefit from this “lack of spacing.” If they give DeRozan these type of isolations on the baseline, there will be a quick double from the top of the key.

Now, he wouldn’t have as much room to operate as he did here, since Adebayo would probably be in the Patty Mills spot, except a few feet forward above the free throw line. The thing about that is DeRozan is very used to that type of play-style by shooting in tight windows in a crowded half-court.

The other way these isos could work is with Lowry above the break, forcing the defense to double from the weakside, meaning a Butler or Adebayo one dribble mid-range pull-up would be a go-to in the offense.

Back to the original point with Adebayo on the elbow, it would look similar to the one above where the defender helps down. That would mean he would have to expand on the leaps he made last year by thriving on the 4 on 3 opportunities. He saw plenty of them in the high pick and roll last year, but this would be much more simple on the short roll.

And if there’s anything I’ve noticed about Adebayo since joining Team USA, he has become a master adjuster in different systems, and that is a point to harp on.

Jimmy Butler Off the Catch

While you got a look at how Adebayo could be used with DeRozan as the ball-handler in certain sets, Butler feels to be the bigger question. But once again, it may be much simpler than many are making it out to be.

Butler has thrived off the catch for some time now, but the Heat’s lack of play-making guards didn’t really put him in those type of positions.

Looking at the play above, this is what many imagine would be the defensive stance when DeRozan is driving and Butler is in a spot-up role in the corner. Naz Reid ducks down to the block, basically daring DeRozan to kick it out.

As Trey Lyles demonstrated here, sprinting toward the basket off the catch is the number one option, and we all know what Butler is capable of on those hard drives.

Finally, it must be stated that this is a very small sample size of plays that I’m highlighting. These guys would be placed into a ton of different spots, but the point is that it can work when DeRozan is the ball-handler around the other primary pieces.

The issue over the last few years has been Miami had the spacing, but lacked options. In this scenario, they would lack spacing, but have options. And the one thing I can say about that is spacing is much easier to find than offensive options.

 

Everything Tradeshows is a one-stop-shop for trade show exhibit rentals and custom exhibit display purchase solutions to companies of all sizes.

Visit them at EverythingTradeShows or call 954-791-8882

5RSN Exclusive: Latest Miami Heat Free Agency Info

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As we’re approaching the 24 hour mark until free agency begins, it has become a very complicated time for the Miami Heat. With the team option decisions looming, it was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski that the Heat declined Andre Iguodala’s team option, while the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson recently reported it was not yet official by Miami.

It was officially reported, though, that Miami opted into Goran Dragic’s contract worth $19.4 Million, which all indications point to that being used in a possible trade deal as they work over the cap.

The main place that Dragic’s name will come into play is with the Toronto Raptors in Miami’s continued pursuit of Kyle Lowry. The latest from Five Reasons Sports is that Lowry’s preference remains the same to play in Miami with Jimmy Butler, who he shares a close relationship with.

Adam Borai continued on this reporting, saying that “only a major overpay could stunt” a move for Lowry to end up in Miami. But with so many moving parts, it’s clear that nothing is set in stone.

Speaking of those moving parts, another name that has been thrown into the latest discussions around the Miami Heat’s next moves is Demar DeRozan, as Five Reasons Sports released here…

While many harp on Lowry’s relationship with Butler, there’s no doubt that he wouldn’t look in other directions if his closest friend, DeRozan, lands in the exact spot that he’s eyeing. As stated above, this type of deal would be quite complicated from a general sense, but they’re currently looking into things further.

Questions continue to fly. Would that spacing work? Would that be enough? It’s important to have some perspective on the situation, and take into account the big picture outcome that is a possibility. There’s still so much unknown about what the final form would look like in that scenario, and there’s still plenty of other ways that they can go about this stuff.

This will continued to be updated as more information is available to report….

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Everything Tradeshows is a one-stop-shop for trade show exhibit rentals and custom exhibit display purchase solutions to companies of all sizes.

Visit them at EverythingTradeShows or call 954-791-8882

Full 7 in 1 Breakdown on Miami Heat Undrafted Signings

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Well, as I previewed throughout the week, the Heat’s impact on draft night was not going to come between picks 1 and 60. It was actually in the undrafted market where they can basically get a copy and pasted version of the same play-style to move forward with.

I’ve mentioned prior to the NBA draft that Miami will be looking at players with two attributes: two-way players and NBA ready guys. And they got just that.

If you’re looking for full breakdowns on all 7 of the Miami Heat’s undrafted additions, you’ve come to the right place. So, let’s hop right into what each of these guys can bring to the table…

DeJon Jerreau

Lock-Down Defense

When I say Miami needed two-way guys to fall out of this draft, it mostly pointed toward the guard position with the Heat’s recent point of attack struggles.

Dejon “Deeky” Jerreau can hit the passing lanes pretty well, bouncy enough to attain highlight blocks like the one above, and more importantly, he can shut-down most guards one-on-one. His long wingspan means he can force major disruption on the perimeter guarding ball-handlers, and combining that with his quick feet make a pretty intriguing defender.

One of his biggest strengths on that end, in my opinion, is altering jump-shots, which ties back to the wing-span point. When looking at the clips above, you can see that he doesn’t allow other to create any separation in the half-court. Even if a move is made, he has great recovery speed to bounce back for a perfect contest.

We’ve seen this story before with completely dominant young defenders, but how does his offense look as a secondary strength?

Pick and Roll Reader/Kick-Out Artist

One thing to mention about about his game is that he has great size for his position. Being a 6’5 point guard gives him some advantages in certain departments, and one of those departments is as a passer.

The ability to survey the floor over smaller guards is always a great attribute, but it’s his passing IQ that seems to be the part to harp on. He’s an outstanding pick and roll facilitator, and shows to do a pretty good job of reading the different coverages thrown at him. He is very patient in that area, which is always good to see with guys his age.

Knowing when to make the pocket pass or when to make the over-head dish is pretty impressive, but his downhill pressure really maximized his play-making throughout his college career. His drives can really bend a defense, which led to him basically living off the kick-outs to shooters, as he is able to make difficult passes on the move.

As you can tell, the Heat’s undrafted pick-ups are strong in the areas that the team is weak in. That isn’t a coincidence.

Mid-Range Creator/Go-To Floater

Jerreau’s scoring inside the arc is very interesting to me. For one, the floater is his go-to move in his offensive package, and it allowed him to get creative with different bank shot angles in awkward positions. The thing about that is those weren’t awkward positions for Jerreau.

As seen above, he can take guys to the rim off the dribble, before springing up into the floater which basically eliminates any type of contest from defending guards. Aside from that unique trait, his overall mid-range jumper looks surprisingly smooth.

Although I’ll touch on his deep ball next, the shots from the elbow and inward look much more pure than beyond the arc. As stated on the defensive end, he has some bounce to him in a very gerneral sense, which means he can get over the top of his defenders inside the arc with a normal jumper.

Of course the jumper can always be tweaked slightly, but those skills that you see before he fires away can’t be taught.

A Capable Outside Shot

After having a rough shooting season in his Junior year, shooting 18% from three, he bounced back to the 34% mark, but there’s still improvements to be made. He is more than capable of knocking down the open three, but in an NBA setting, I’m not very sure that the outside shot will be a sticking point in his offensive game.

We’ve seen this many times in the past, where guys can shoot the three ball in college, but the slow wind up gets them in trouble at the next level. The good thing about that is it can be tweaked more than any other attribute in the game of basketball, especially in a Miami Heat system.

The issue with certain guys in the past has been the non-existing offensive game at all, but Jerreau clearly has that and more. I see him much more as a mid-range type player, but the development over time can definitely make his all-around skill-set much more interesting.

Javonte Smart

3 Level Scoring

While guys like Jerreau struggle in minor spots of the half-court, Javonte Smart is the offensive point guard that can be a valuable three-level scorer in the future.

He’s coming off a season where he shot 40% from three on 6 attempts, which makes you think how this guy made it out of the second round. Although he’s a point guard, he got plenty of off-ball reps which truly proved to be his strong suit at times. In a motion type offense, I believe he can be a pretty effective player in that role with a slightly quicker trigger.

Aside from that, he’s most known as an on the ball scorer, who can take guys off the dribble to get to his spots from deep. That off the dribble scoring mentality made him a deadly threat in the high pick and roll, since giving him room to navigate is all he needed to be effective.

The rim pressure is mostly generated by his physicality and size on drives. Yes, he loves to sprinkle in some euro steps and up and unders, but his build truly screams bullying others on the attack. And well, that also screams Miami Heat.

Another Go-To Floater Showcases a Theme

As I pointed out earlier, there’s a specific theme with these pick-ups. For one, they all share the two-way play-style, they’re all positional needs on the current roster, and now, they all have the same type of offensive focus.

Smart is another who one of those players that bases his game around the gravity of his floater when plowing downhill. As seen above, he can use both hands in that space, meaning it puts opposing defenders in a weird spot to go up and try to get a block.

He uses the pump-fake effectively and knows how to react quickly to flow right into that go-to floater. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is in the grand scheme of things. This says a lot about the type of player that he is: he’s just solid.

High Floor

The Heat have been going after guys with high ceilings in every draft, but I had a feeling that would end in this undrafted search. In this win-now time frame, they’re going to see if they can find some hidden gems to possibly make an impact in the near future.

And Smart fits that criteria, since he has a very high floor in my opinion. When I say that he has a high floor, I mean that he doesn’t have any true holes in his game that should be worrisome, leading to a gradual improvement to be impactful in this league. A guy who can shoot the three ball, score in the paint, facilitate the offense, and defend aren’t very normal in this capacity in the big picture, which is why Miami waited for these player types to fall.

I can see Smart actually filling a roster spot if his development continues, but I think the biggest reason for that is he has a certain switch that can turn into a complete “scoring mode.” And that would be something that would appeal to the Heat.

DJ Stewart

Elbow Specialist=High Release Point

Filling the hole of a point guard is one thing, but filling the need of a pure scorer is another. It’s something else the Miami Heat need on their actual roster next season, and that is what DJ Stewart does. He’s a bucket getter.

One of the primary things to note is that he isn’t your normal scorer coming out of college, due to him actually being pretty unique offensively. Unlike many other scoring guards, he is most comfortable setting up in the mid-range. Let me repeat, not flowing into the mid-range, but setting up in that spot.

In a Bam Adebayo way, he sometimes awaits the insertion into the elbow, which allows him to go to work in a major area of strength. Looking at the clips above, you can see that he’s very confident in getting to that spot on the floor out of the pick and roll, but what makes it so deadly is his release point.

Yes, this is a different group of players he’s playing against, but the peak of his jumper tells you all you need to know about his scoring ability. Nothing ever looks forced. He just does what he does and gets buckets.

Crafty Finisher/Tight Handle

Aside from mid-range assertiveness, the downhill stuff really came as a surprise. The reason is that he has a very tight handle when navigating certain sets, which takes his skill-set to the next level in an NBA environment.

Looking at the plays above, transition offense definitely allows him to be free with his scoring at the rim, but the set plays in the other clips make him even more interesting. He plays at his own pace, which is a phrase that is used way too freely in this league, but it really fits his scoring display.

And by the way, I know you guys saw some of those floaters mixed in there for the third straight player pick-up.

While a lot of the Heat’s guys have shared the same traits positionally and through play-style, I’d say Stewart is the most different one of the bunch, and I actually believe he has the most upside.

Fluid Motion from Deep

The other areas of his game stand-out the most, but don’t let that distract you from his smooth jumper from deep. Stewart shot 34% from three on a little under 5 attempts a game, but a lot of this has to do with role.

The reason I mentioned I believe his upside is higher than others is due to his overall efficiency being a harping point. He will probably be a guy that just gets his shots up to try and score, but if the deep ball consistency is changed slightly, he could come out as the most beneficial guy.

But for now, that will be something to keep an eye on. Will he try and focus on that spot-up shooting in Summer League games or will he get to his strengths inside the arc with second level scoring?

AJ Lawson

All-Around Defender

AJ Lawson was a guy that I wrote about as an undrafted possibility before the draft, and it actually ended up working out. I’ve touched on plenty of guys so far that are talented defenders, but Lawson in particular does it in a different way.

He’s much more of an off-ball type guy, who can navigate screens and jump into passing lanes for transition offense. He has pretty good length which makes me think the on-ball stuff to alter shots could be a positive note, but there’s nothing like the skills in the clips above.

Chasing guys off back screens to force turnovers for opposing ball-handlers, and fronting guys on the wing so they can’t flow into their offensive sets. There are many more talented defenders on this list, but in terms of IQ on that end of the floor, Lawson is pretty high up on that list.

Spot-Up Shooter

For some time, Lawson wasn’t perceived as much of an offensive threat to progress to the next level. Of course 13 points a game in your freshman and sophomore year isn’t bad, but the role he was in held him back.

But this past season gave him a little more offensive freedom, which meant much more offensive effectiveness. He shot 35% from deep on 8 attempts a game, which is a complete turnaround from the years prior. I can definitely see him become a corner spot-up guy who can also become a defensive staple, but some signs show he can be more than that in a long-term sense.

Although he’s lengthy, he has a pretty skinny build which may restrict some things he can do on the offensive end. If some of that deep ball shooting can stay consistent with his Junior season, then he can actually make an impact in that 3 and D role with the Summer League unit.

Off-Screen Scoring

If there was a specific offensive thing to harp on, it’s his scoring in set plays with multiple stagger screens to get him on the move. News flash: that fits the Miami Heat’s play-style to a tee.

Looking at the clips above, double off-ball screens into a curl for an elbow jumper is a sweet spot for him, or down-screens that get him flying at the basket in space. Other than the shooting stuff, which will be implemented in these set plays, this is where I see his immediate role moving forward.

He’s a pretty versatile wing that can be plugged into different spots, which is why it made sense to me that Miami would take a look at him. Even though I feel he’s more project than immediate impact, there’s a chance he can translate well in this type of environment.

RJ Nembhard

Explosiveness and Flashiness 

RJ Nembhard is a pretty interesting name to link to the Miami Heat, not for his style of play like the others, but his overall competitiveness and intensity. He’s a Heat guy.

While I’ll touch on his offensive staple next, taking a look at the clips above showcase his skill of pure explosiveness and athleticism. He’s very elusive out of the high pick and roll, meaning he can slip through certain pockets to explode toward the rim. But what bends the defense the most is his play-making in that space.

Seeing the plays sprinkled in above, he can make certain passes that other guys just can’t. He shows me more flashiness than set point guard, but that may be what Miami could use off the bench in some capacity. Guys who are pure talents as play-makers and can get you out and running with a ton of energy just makes a lot of sense for this team.

Offense=Driving, Driving, and More Driving

His offensive game isn’t very complicated. To go along with that quick first step and slippery probing dribble on the attack, plowing to the rim strongly is his primary way to score the basketball.

He can use both hands around the rim with creative scoop shots to avoid contact, but he also mixes in plenty of physicality to embrace contact and finish at the rim. His instincts and touch around the basket is something many players wish they had, but once again, a lot of his style of play tells me more long-term development.

Can he run an offense in Summer League and make an impact? Definitely, but it comes down to the minor improvements he makes as a NBA ready prospect over the course of the next few weeks, or possibly the work he’s put in since the end of the season. Combining this ability with a go-to outside the paint shot would definitely catch the eye of the Heat.

Defensive Potential

Nembhard feels more like a guy with defensive potential than others I’ve discussed who just have it. He is very good at fronting guys on the wing as seen above and getting his hands in passing lanes, but I’m not sure you’re sticking him on the opposing Summer League team’s best player in a couple weeks with the other guys on this list.

This shouldn’t be looked at as a knock on him, since he’s still a very talented defender, but it feels like he’s not close to his peak status on that end of the floor like others are. Once again, the potential is high for him to develop into something on both sides of the court, but Miami isn’t looking for a high ceiling at the moment. They’re looking for a Duncan Robinson/Kendrick Nunn type gem.

Marcus Garrett

Absolute Defensive Dominance

If you want to see a guy that is league ready on the defensive end and doesn’t need the “potential” adjective, it’s Marcus Garrett. Another energy plug who has every asset imaginable that makes up a great lock-down defender.

He goes for the Andre Iguodala type swipes to muck things up for bigs on the catch, he’s the book cover for keeping your hands high when defending on-ball, can pick up full court for outstanding ball pressure, and is a pretty great help-side defender. If you’re thinking this is an overstatement for an undrafted guy, you are wrong.

He’s a previous defensive player of the year, and it was said that he probably would’ve won it again this past season if it weren’t for Davion Mitchell. I may have used the phrase “Miami Heat guy” too many times in this piece, but if there’s a guy Erik Spoelstra would love to utilize on a regular basis, it’s probably Marcus Garrett.

Offensive Growth Meant NBA Ready

There were some offensive issues early on, which put some question marks next to his effectiveness at the next level. In his first three seasons in college, he was only attempting about 1 triple a game, while recording percentages of 27%, 25% and 33% respectively.

But in his senior year, he attempted close to 2 and a half threes a game, and shot 35% from deep. And the thing that makes me much more confident about his shooting than past guys is that his shooting stroke actually looks smooth.

Looking at the clips above, it’s pretty clear he’s a rhythm shooter when shots fall early on, but this isn’t the same type of offensive development discussion with guys like KZ Okpala, or past guys on this list. There may need to be some growth, but everything is in his bag at this very moment.

Every player is not going to be complete, but they have to have the skill-set to show they’re pretty close. And well, Garrett is pretty close.

Point Guard Qualities

Of course the defensive stuff will always come up first with Garrett, but he truly seems to be a perfect role player in this league. A guy that has a known role every night, but can also expand into some scoring bursts or passing clinics.

Garrett has shown that he can be a viable facilitator in this league, while sprinkling in some dribble drives that every young guard must have to make the defender respect your next move. Looking at the clips above, he can clearly make the right passes but the question will be if he can make the right reads.

Four years in college prepared him for that a bit and this Summer League experience definitely won’t hurt. Another thing that can be seen above is that he doesn’t just bring physicality on defense. He finds himself on the block at times posting up guys his size, since he knows that his gritty ways will find a way down there.

The Heat tend to love those “dogs” on both ends and Garrett fits that description very well.

Micah Potter

Pick and Pop Artist

Well, we’ve finally reached the guy that is different from the bunch. After Miami went very heavy into picking up guys in the wing department, as I expected, they also added Micah Potter who is a very talented stretch big.

It’s important to mention that he thrives in a pick and pop setting, since his jump-shot has pretty much been a primary strength. Yes, catch and shoot opportunities occurred and he actually put the ball on the floor to set himself up from deep, but that just isn’t a big man role. Screening and popping is that role at the next level, and he’s mastered that over the past two years.

He only averaged 4 points a game in his freshman and sophomore year with Ohio State, but when he transferred to Wisconsin, he took off. Jumped up to 3 attempts from deep per game, where he shot 45% and 39% respectively. Looking at the clips above, he has a perfect shooting base, good motion, and nice release point.

Potter will be a guy that you know what you’re getting from every night, and Miami loves consistency.

Low Post Play

Although he loves to stretch the floor, don’t let that distract you from his interior play. He can create offense in many different ways from the post, either turning into a baseline jumper or using his good looking footwork for post spins at the basket.

He can use both hands around the rim out of the post as well, and his good size feels like that’ll translate well to a Summer League environment. While the offensive interior play is a part to harp on, the same doesn’t really go for the end of the floor.

Potter isn’t very versatile on the defensive end guarding the perimeter, while there still needs to be some improvement in the pick and roll coverage in drop. Rebounding also may need a bit of a boost, which clearly would make the difference on a Heat team at the end of the roster.

Surprising Mobility

To finish it off, he did surprise me with his mobility. Seeing his size and the main attributes of his game usually mean slow-footed rollers who are just there to create for the attacker.

That isn’t the case with Potter, since he can actually move down the lane and knows what to do with that pocket pass when he catches it in traffic.

It’s pretty obvious that the Miami Heat will have quite the Summer League squad this season with the amount of talent highlighted here, but a lot of these guys are playing for something bigger.

If Miami makes a deal this off-season to bring in a high level talent for a bunch of assets, many of these players could be getting their name called up, so it’s time to see how they perform on this next stage.

 

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Worst Heat Draft Picks

5 Worst Heat Draft Picks of All-Time

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Entering their 34th season of existence, the Miami Heat find themselves without a selection in the 2021 NBA Draft. In five previous drafts (’96, ’06, ’13, ’16 and ’18), the Heat did not make a selection of any kind. But in the years they have made selections, their hit-rate has been spotty. Miami has found itself in the draft lottery 14 times, and some of those selections represent the worst Heat draft picks of all-time.

While it remains to be seen how the 2021 NBA Draft will play out, here’s a look at the five worst Heat draft picks of all-time.

 

First, a Quick Look at a few Regrettable Trades

Without a pick entering the evening’s festivities, there is precedent for Miami trading into the first round. In 1996, Pat Riley reshaped the Heat roster following a playoff sweep at the hands of the eventual champion Chicago Bulls. Sound familiar?

That year, Riley sent a future first round selection to Utah for the draft rights to Martin Müürsepp. The 6-9 Estonian proved to be something of a reach and developed very little in a Heat uniform. All told, Müürsepp played 10 games for Miami before being packaged with Sasha Danilović and Kurt Thomas to the Mavericks for Jamal Mashburn.

Picking Müürsepp at 25 helped yield an impactful player for Miami, yes. But there were other, better players on the board during the 1996 NBA Draft. Namely, Jerome Williams (26), Malik Rose (44) and Shandon Anderson (54), among others.

What compounds this regrettable move is the inclusion of the 2000 1st rounder, a selection that eventually became DeShawn Stevenson.

The other bad trade came in 1992. The Heat sent their ’93 first and rookie Isaiah Morris (a ’92 second round pick) to Detroit for veteran center John Salley. Although Salley proved useful for three seasons, Miami left him unprotected in the 1995 expansion draft and Toronto plucked him.

That ’93 first Miami surrendered? It became Lindsey Hunter at No. 10. Some of the other players on the board at that time were Allan Houston (yes, that Allan Houston) and Sam Cassell.

Related: 5 Best Heat Draft Picks of All-Time

Worst Heat Draft Picks: Willie Burton (No. 9, 1990)

Worst Heat Draft Picks

Lady Luck didn’t smile on Miami in 1990. In the first year of the weighted lottery system, the Heat held the second-best odds for the No. 1 overall selection. That season, Derrick Coleman was expected to go first. Future Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton stood as the likely No. 2 pick. But instead of landing the Glove 15 years before he’d make it to Miami, the Heat slipped to No. 3.

Prior to the draft, Lewis Schaffel, first GM in Heat history, dealt that selection to Denver for the ninth and fifteenth picks that year. Schaffel said at the time the difference between third and the ninth was “not huge. There might not be any.”

There was.

Third overall turned out to be Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (nee Chris Jackson). The Heat chose Willie Burton from Minnesota at nine. Over eight NBA seasons, Burton posted a minus-0.9 VORP (Value-Over-Replacement-Player), 39th in the class, and 9.1 Win Shares, 23rd in the class.

Burton played well as a rookie, averaging 12 PPG and earning a spot the NBA’s All-Rookie second team. But his production cratered from there. After four seasons, Miami waived him. Burton got revenge in 1994 when, as a 76er, he scored a career-high 53 points against the Heat.

Going into ’90-’91, the Heat had need at power forward and shooting guard. By swapping No. 3 and No. 9, the team missed out on Dennis Scott (4) and Kendall Gill (5). Miami could’ve used Tyrone Hill (11), too.

Miami used No. 15 overall to take guard Dave Jamerson, who they traded to Houston with their No. 30 pick Carl Herrera for power forward Alec Kessler. Other players Miami missed out on in 1990 included Elden Campbell (27), Toni Kukoč (29), Antonio Davis (45) and Cedric Ceballos (48).

 

Worst Heat Draft Picks: Khalid Reeves (No. 12, 1994)

Worst Heat Draft Picks

Heading into the 1994 NBA Draft, the Heat were coming of the first winning season in franchise history. As the 8-seed in the playoffs, Miami nearly upset the top-seeded Hawks, losing in the deciding Game 5 of the series. A year after not having a first-round pick, Miami held the No. 12 selection overall, the first outside the lottery.

Miami lost Brian Shaw to free agency and waived Burton, so the team needed guard depth. The promising young core of Glen Rice, Steve Smith and Rony Seikaly seemed ready to vault up the Eastern Conference and drafting Jalen Rose could have provided just the playmaker Miami needed.

But that’s not what Schaffel did. Instead of taking Rose, Miami selected Khalid Reeves at No. 12. A 6-3 scorer from Arizona, Reeves was miscast as a point guard in Miami. He provided very little production as a rookie and stood by as Schaffel and Billy Cunningham retooled the roster. Miami missed the playoffs and Micky Arison assumed controlling interest in the franchise. Arison brought in Pat Riley who included Reeves in his franchise-altering trade for Alonzo Mourning.

Reeves played six seasons in the NBA, but just one for Miami, making him arguably one of the worst Heat draft picks of all-time. He posted a 1.0 VORP (19th in class) and 8.4 Win Shares (22nd in the class).

On the board at the time of his selection: Rose (13), Aaron McKie (17), Wesley Person (23) and Charlie Ward (26).

Heat legend Voshon Lenard was drafted No. 46 overall by Milwaukee. Miami passed him over in the second round, opting instead for Oklahoma forward Jeff Webster. Riley would sign Lenard as a free agent on December 29, 1995.

 

Worst Heat Draft Picks: Michael Beasley (No. 2, 2008)

Worst Heat Draft PicksTo include Michael Beasley’s name on this list is to court the ire of #HeatTwitter. Beasley remains oddly beloved in Miami, despite limited production and questionable behavior.

The ‘07-‘08 Heat season couldn’t have gone any worse. Their 15-67 mark tied the expansion club for the worst record in franchise history. It was Riley’s last season as head coach and Zo’s last as a player. Dwyane Wademissed time with injuries and Shaquille O’Neal was shipped off. The second half of the season saw Miami trot out lineups that included Blake Ahearn, Stéphane Lasme, Smush Parker and Kasib Powell. The only hope was the 2008 NBA Draft.

Miami held the best odds for No. 1, which would’ve landed Derrick Rose. But at the lottery, Chicago jumped eight places to steal the first pick, pushing the Heat to No. 2. Prior to the draft, it was said that Miami preferred O.J. Mayo. The Heat were trying to trade down and get some cap relief, but when there were no takers, Miami selected Beasley.

Taking Mayo would’ve also been one of the worst Heat draft picks of all-time, considering the names following. Russell Westbrook (4), Kevin Love (5) and Brook Lopez (10) have all been far superior NBA players than both Beas and Mayo.

Beasley’s posted a 0.9 VORP (25th in the class) and 15.6 Win Shares (28th in the class) during his career. Miami moved Beasley to the Timberwolves in 2010 to clear cap space, ultimately allowing them to assemble the Big-3: Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Beasley’s winding career has made two stops in Miami since.

And who knows? Maybe fourth time’s a charm.

 

Worst Heat Draft Picks: Justise Winslow (No. 10, 2015)

Worst Heat Draft PicksAlthough #JustiseBetter was a thing for a considerable amount of time, there’s no escaping the fact that Justise Winslow remains a disappointment to Heat faithful. At the time of his selection, however, people lauded Miami’s choice.

The do-it-all forward entered the 2015 NBA Draft coming off a National Championship and even drew comparisons to (gasp) Grant Hill. But in the end, inconsistency and injuries ultimately landed Winslow among the worst Heat draft picks of all-time.

Two things color the Winslow selection beyond his underwhelming play and limited availability.

First, reports floated around immediately after the draft and in the intervening years that Boston Celtics’ GM Danny Ainge coveted Winslow so much that he offered a package of six draft picks to trade up. This offer was reportedly made to Detroit, which held the No. 8 pick, Charlotte (No. 9) and Miami (No. 10). All three teams rebuffed Boston, opting instead to draft Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminsky and Winslow in succession. In retrospect, Miami might have done well with six additional picks, including four firsts.

Second, Miami missed out on a potentially franchise-altering player in Devin Booker, who went No. 13 to Phoenix. Some of the others on the board between Winslow and Miami’s second round pick (No. 40, Josh Richardson) included Myles Turner (11), Kelly Oubre Jr (15), Terry Rozier (16), Delon Wright (20), Bobby Portis (22) and Montrezl Harrell (32).

Miami traded Winslow on February 6, 2020 in a three-team deal that saw the Heat land  Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill and Andre Iguodala. Those three helped propel Miami to the 2020 NBA Finals.

Winslow, meanwhile, has posted a minus-0.2 VORP (32nd in the class) and 7.0 Win Shares (25th in the class) over six spotty seasons.

 

Worst Heat Draft Picks: Harold Miner (No. 12, 1992)

Worst Heat Draft PicksThe 1992 NBA Draft stands as a turning point in league history. Orlando won the lottery and the right to select Shaq, while Charlotte moved up six spots to land Zo. Minnesota slipped to No. 3 overall, settling for Christian Laettner.

The Heat held No. 12 after making the franchise’s first playoff appearance. The Bulls swept Miami out of the first round that year, so it’s fitting that the Heat wound up with “Baby Jordan.”

Harold Miner earned Sports Illustrated’s player of the year over Laettner, Mourning and O’Neal in 1992, averaging 26.3 points- and seven rebounds-per-game for USC. Most mocks had Miner as a top-10 pick, some going as high as No. 3. So it was a surprise for him to be there when Miami picked at 12.

At the time, Miami needed another rebounder and frontcourt enforcer to compliment the young core of Rice, Seikaly and Smith. The quintessential Heat enforcer was on the board, too. P.J. Brown went 29th to New Jersey. Instead, Miami opted for Miner, who never really fit.

Miner played three unremarkable seasons with the Heat (save for his two Slam Dunk Contest victories). He posted a minus-0.9 VORP (42nd in the class) and 4.2 Win Shares (29th in the class). Miami traded him to Cleveland in 1995 as part of a second-round pick swap.

Among the other players on the board at No. 12 besides Brown: Anthony Peeler (15), Doug Christie (17), Hubert Davis (20) and four-time All-Star Latrell Sprewell (24).

What makes Miner arguably the worst of the Heat draft picks of all-time is that Sprewell probably changes the trajectory of the franchise at that point. He was immediately an elite defender and quickly became a go-to scorer. He might’ve been the missing piece for the franchise’s initial young core.

 

Heat’s Strange Connection to the 1992 Draft

Ironically, the Heat rostered eight of the first 10 players selected in the 1992 draft: O’Neal, Mourning, Laettner, Jim Jackson, LaPhonso Ellis, Walt Williams, Todd Day and Clarence Weatherspoon.

Beyond those eight, there was also Miner, Brown, Don MacLean (19), Matt Geiger (42), Sasha Danilović (43) and Matt Fish (50). Miami drafted Isaiah Morris in the second round (37) but traded him to Detroit as part of the package to acquire Salley in ‘92. That makes 15 of 48 players (31 percent) who actually played in the NBA from this draft were one-time members of the Miami Heat.

Also of note, the Heat’s selection of Geiger with the No. 42 overall selection came thanks to a trade made with the Los Angeles Lakers. In a pre-expansion draft deal on June 23, 1988, LA sent a future 1992 2nd round pick to Miami ensuring the Heat would not select Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the expansion draft.

Related: NBA Lottery Mock Draft: Cunningham and company

Best Heat Draft Picks

5 Best Heat Draft Picks of All-Time

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The Miami Heat hold a checkered history when it comes to the NBA Draft. Whittling down the list to the five best Heat draft picks of all-time can be difficult, though there are some obvious choices.

With first round picks often flipped for veteran players, the number of years draft night held any intrigue in Miami remains small. In 33 seasons, the Heat held a spot in the draft lottery 14 times (not including 1988). Two of those lottery selections were shipped to other clubs prior to the draft. Five times, draft night came and went without a pick from the Heat (’96, ’06, ’13, ’16 and ’18). On seven other occasions, Miami made only second round selections (’93, ’98, ’00, ’01, ’09, ’10 and ’11).

Miami has made 58 draft selections over the years. But only two players drafted by the franchise have become NBA All-Stars in a Heat uniform. More often than not, draft picks provide momentary hope, before becoming assets sent to other teams for other stars.

So here’s a look at the five best Heat draft picks of All-Time.

 

Best Heat Draft Picks: Josh Richardson (2015, 40th overall)

Best Heat Draft Picks

Tennessee’s Josh Richardson / Credit: UT Athletics

The Miami Heat have a long track record of developing talent. The list of undrafted free agent success stories is a long one. But the team’s success rate on second round picks remains less favorable. Of the Heat’s 58 draft picks all-time, 34 have come in the second round. The best of those picks came in 2015, when the Heat selected Josh Richardson with the 40th overall selection.

A 6-5 combo guard out of Tennessee, Richardson went on to play four years in Miami. Richardson’s metrics improved with each season as he became a staple in the Heat’s rotation. His 419 career three-pointers made rank 10th all-time in franchise history. Sometimes miscast as a playmaker, Richardson remained a reliable defender throughout his time with the Heat. Richardson headlined the trade package that landed Miami Jimmy Butler in 2019.

Even though he was the 40th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, Richardson stands among the most productive players from that draft class. He’s top-10 from that class in Win Shares (20.3). And his 4.1 VORP (Value over Replacement Player) ranks 12th among the 60 selections, 20 slots ahead of Miami’s other selection that season, Justise Winslow.

Related: Some Possible Undrafted Gems that Miami Should Have their Eyes On

 

Best Heat Draft Picks: Rony Seikaly (1988, 9th overall)

Best Heat Draft Picks

June 28, 1988 the Heat made the 1st pick in team history, choosing Rony Seikaly 9th pick in the NBA Draft. (via: Miami Heat Instagram)

Rony Seikaly’s name remains forever etched in Heat history. The first ever draft selection by the franchise, Seikaly proved to be a valuable cornerstone player in Miami’s early years.

The ninth overall selection of the 1988 NBA Draft, Seikaly played six seasons with the Heat. He averaged 15.4 points-per-game and 10.4 rebounds-per-game, and won NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 1990. Seikaly anchored Miami’s first playoff teams and his name still dots the top-10 in 22 statistical categories.

But a falling out with then-managing partners Lewis Schaffel and Billy Cunningham ultimately paved the way for a franchise-altering rebuild. Seikaly was shipped off to Golden State for Sasha Danilović and Billy Owens on November 2, 1994. That deal was quickly followed with another that saw Steve Smith and Grant Long sent to Atlanta. Suddenly, the initial promising young core in Heat history was no more.

Seikaly finished his career as the second-best rebounder and eighth-best scorer from the 1988 class. Ironically, the Heat rostered the top three rebounders from this class, including the overall leader Anthony Mason and Long. In a redraft of that class, Seikaly could arguably go as high as fifth.

 

Best Heat Draft Picks: Bam Adebayo (2017, 14th overall)

Best Heat Draft Picks

Bam Adebayo and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 22, 2017. (Photo Credit: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The Heat landed in the 2017 NBA lottery despite the 30-11 second-half. Miami found itself eliminated from the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, missing out thanks to a tie-breaker. And although that 30-11 run mucked up the Heat’s salary cap for years to come after some (highly) questionable free agent decisions, the Heat landed one of the franchise’s best and most impactful draft picks of all-time.

Bam Adebayo came to Miami via the 14th overall selection in 2017 NBA Draft. And although the move was panned by many at the time, Adebayo has grown into a franchise cornerstone in the intervening years. Only he and Dwyane Wade boast All-Star bids as draftees of the Heat. He’s also a two-time All-Defensive player and one of five in Heat history to make the Team USA’s Olympics roster. If he remains with the club long-term, there’s no doubt Adebayo’s name will rewrite the franchise record book.

As it stands right now, Adebayo ranks first from the 2017 class in Win Shares, ahead of Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and all the others. He’s second in VORP. There’s no doubt Adebayo, the 14th pick overall, would be in the top-3 in a 2017 redraft.

 

Best Heat Draft Picks: Glen Rice (1989, 4th overall)

Best Heat Draft Picks

(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Coming off an inaugural campaign that saw the Heat win just 15 games, Miami landed its first true star in the 1989 NBA Draft. The Heat labored through that first season, playing in the Western Conference as part of the Midwest division with Dallas, Denver, Houston, San Antonio and Utah. And despite having the worst record in the league by five games, the Heat slipped to fourth the draft lottery. The Kings, Clippers and Spurs all jumped Miami in the draft order.

But what resulted is arguably the second best Heat draft pick of all-time: Glen Rice. The face of the franchise for six seasons, Rice lead Miami’s young franchise to its first playoff berths and winning season. He became the Heat’s first-ever 20-point-per-game scorer and would have been the NBA Rookie of the Year had 1987 draft pick David Robinson not missed his first two seasons for military service.

A three-time All-Star and one-time NBA Champ (albeit not with the Heat), Rice won the NBA Three-Point Shootout in 1995, the first of four Heat players to do so. Rice remains among the franchise top-10 in 26 different statistical categories, including top-3 in scoring (9,248). Rice became the centerpiece in Pat Riley’s trade for Alonzo Mourning on November 3, 1995.

Rice ranks fourth among the 1989 draftees in Win Shares (88.7) and fifth in VORP (24.9). But in a redraft of that class, Rice arguably goes first overall. That class also featured a great second round pick by Miami in Sherman Douglas. Heat legend Tim Hardaway also entered the NBA that year, going 14th to Golden State.

 

Best Heat Draft Picks: Dwyane Wade (2003, 5th overall)

Best Heat Draft Picks

(Victor Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

This one goes without saying. The Heat landed Wade with the fifth overall selection in the loaded 2003 NBA Draft, arguably the league’s best draft class of all-time.

The lottery sported all the intrigue that year, considering the hype surrounding then-high school phenom LeBron James. Miami finished the 2002 season with the fourth-worst record in the league, but saw themselves pushed down in the draft order when Memphis jumped to the No. 2 overall pick.

Unfortunately for Memphis, their pick was only lottery-protected if it landed No. 1. So, thanks to an ill-fated 1997 trade as the then-Vancouver Grizzlies for Otis Thorpe, it went to Detroit. The Pistons, meanwhile, used the second overall selection to surprisingly take Darko Miličić. Carmelo Anthony went to Denver, Chris Bosh to Toronto. Wade landed right in the Heat’s lap.

This fortuitous turn of events altered the trajectory of the Heat franchise and really NBA history. Had Miami not been jumped in the draft order, Riley might have taken Bosh over Wade. There was even talk of Chris Kaman being the selection at five. Thankfully, Wade was the pick.

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Among that class, Wade ranks second in Win Shares (120.7) and VORP (62.8). There’s no doubt he’d be the second overall selection in a 2003 redraft. Wade ranks first among Heat career leaders in 19 statistical categories and among the top-10 in 17 others.

Three championships and countless memories later, Wade remains the only player ever drafted by Miami to have his number retired. He stands atop the list of the Heat’s best draft picks of all-time.

Related: Answering Your Questions: What is Next for the Miami Heat?

Evaluating the Ups and Downs of the Olympic-Heat Players Tuesday Night

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After another night of Olympic basketball, the story-lines are flooded with teams consisting of young Miami Heat players. Nigeria fell yet again to Germany, which puts their hopes for a medal in a very interesting spot.

Bam Adebayo and Team USA, on the other hand, took care of business against Iran. Although the stat-sheet wasn’t screaming Adebayo’s name, there are definitely things that were seen which can carry over to his play-style in a Miami Heat jersey.

While two out of the four players showcased more negative than positive on Tuesday night, let’s start out with the two guys that had more positive flashes…..

Precious Achiuwa:

Physical Attacks

Achiuwa definitely had his moments in this game, but it definitely wasn’t as smooth as the games back in Las Vegas. At that time, everything he did looked effortless on the offensive end, but as time progressed, more and more things looked forced.

One area of his game that wasn’t being forced was when he had a head of steam going to the basket. As I’ve highlighted in the past, the game has slowed down for him a bit since his rookie season. The reason I say that is due to the extra patience on screens in the high pick and roll.

Usually he would sprint to the basket on the dive for a possible lob, but now he has realized that the pocket pass may benefit him more on many possessions. And well, the stuff he’s been able to do off that reception has been impressive.

On the play above, he slips the screen after the defenders blitz the ball-handler, and it leads to a wide open lane for a slam. A few minutes later, we got to see more of those physical drives in transition.

To reiterate previous points, these weren’t the outcomes on fast-break opportunities for Achiuwa last season. His ability to finally control his body when moving at a high speed is something that changes his game offensively. As seen on the replay in the second clip, he uses his wide frame to take the contact and finish at the rim for the and-1.

Instead of using pump-fakes and retreat dribbles to shy away from contact, he has been embracing it. Combining that with a much improved handle on the perimeter, which he has gotten plenty of reps with as Nigeria’s point guard at times, leads to a guy with major upside on that end of the floor. He’s making subtle improvements on the offensive end, and that’s what an off-season does for a young prospect like himself.

Caught in the Air

To mention one negative takeaway from his performance yesterday, there were some defensive lapses in one specific area. He has actually looked great on that end throughout this whole period, especially on the perimeter against guards as he gives them the “Adebayo treatment.”

Aside from that, he just falls for fakes way too often in the interior, which leads to him throwing his body completely into a block or contest. That resulted in foul trouble yesterday, and it feels like that’s been a recurring theme for some time now.

Even on the perimeter at times, the slightest pump-fake outside the arc gets him in the air. This isn’t a huge deal in the big picture, since that can very easily be tweaked, but it seems like that’ll need to be straightened out pretty soon to avoid that in an NBA environment.

Bam Adebayo:

Transition Dominance

Onto Bam Adebayo’s performance, something I’ve touched on in many pieces in the past was utilized early in this game: transition offense. He’s going to be quicker than any big he faces in these games, which means getting out on the break for the outlet pass can be so effective for Team USA.

He had two possessions early in yesterday’s game where easy transition points were the outcome, and I feel that this could be the case next season with the Heat. Of course it’s not because of the same point here with being quicker than other players, but it opens up the floor and maximizes his offensive ability.

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A point guard will definitely clean up half-court struggles, but getting a shifty, speedy, and versatile big with a handle sprinting down the floor with defenders on their heels seems like a pretty beneficial option. He’s gotten comfortable looking for guys like Jimmy Butler or Goran Dragic on the break, where he must realize now that he’s the true x-factor in this situation.

Clips like the one above are just easy buckets with nobody in front of him, but I’m talking more about possessions where a defense is scrambling to set-up. Faking a DHO, using a dribble combo, or bull dozing his way toward the rim can all be used to eliminate the consistent half-court retreat.

Defensive Diversity

I feel like I’ve discussed every major defensive staple from Adebayo in these games so far, so why stop now? He looked the same with his dominance on the perimeter against guards, where they believe they forced a mismatch early in the first quarter, before realizing it’s just the opposite.

He had his hands full on the block yesterday, but those are great reps to go through so he can grow more comfortable against bigger guys. There’s still some unknown if that’ll be his duty next season if Miami adds a small ball 4, or if that task will be passed onto a stretch big at the 5.

Either way, plays like the one above only occur with pure athletic and determined defenders. Slowly trailing the ball-handler who believes he has a one-on-one opportunity, before blocking it from behind for the stop.

We can sit here and highlight the biggest strengths of his defensive skill-set, perimeter clamps and help-side tagging, but he’s more diverse than I believe most people think. His build just isn’t normal with the attributes he has available to him, which makes him so intriguing as a player once everything else fully comes together.

Gabe Vincent:

Shooting Consistency Question Marks

Gabe Vincent was an interesting story for Nigeria last night. He came out firing from deep, scoring 8 points with two catch and shoot threes shown above and a nice pull-up 2 off the dribble.

You may think that sounds like a fantastic game for him, but shooting consistency continues to be harped on following the hot start. After those 2 triples early on, he ended up missing his next 8 from deep, ending the game 2 of 10 from beyond the arc.

As we know about Vincent, that part of his game went from a major skill to a possible weakness, once realization came that his most ideal area for him to play is on the defensive end. He showed that last night as well, by hounding guards full court and a fantastic way of navigating screens off the ball and in the pick and roll.

I believe Vincent has it in him to make a jump in efficiency, but it’s yet to be seen. In a perfect off-season, Vincent will be the team’s back up guard next season, due to that meaning Miami made some big deals to bring in supreme talents. But if that was going to be his role, he would have to fix that up majorly so the Heat aren’t forced to look at different options.

KZ Okpala:

Skill-Set of Polar Opposites

And the final guy in this discussion is KZ Okpala, who I’ve pretty much walked away from every game with the same exact takeaway. To touch on the positive stuff first, the dude is just an absolute monster on defense. The full-court press, the speed to switch, the length to hit passing lanes, and a combination of that all to alter shots.

Those things led to him racking up 5 steals in yesterday’s game, which would make you think that player is extremely talented and effective at the moment. But the issue is that he had the same amount of steals as points, which seems to be the case in every game he plays.

I actually thought he looked more comfortable on offense early on than he did the entire Olympics. The clip above shows a solid drive that he had, where he utilized his long strides to get to the basket, before giving a nice bump to create separation for the score.

But much like Vincent’s situation, it tailed off. And well, he actually became a true liability on that end for them down the stretch. The biggest thing that must be noted is that he is just way too predictable on that end. Defenses find out quickly that he’s not a true floor spacer, while the limited on-ball involvement allows for exclusive tagging as they drop away from him.

As he tried to create some offense in the half-court and in transition in the fourth quarter yesterday, it halted their flow. With an unwillingness to look at the basket, players began fronting the perimeter, waiting for the kick-out. That led to two late turnovers on forced passes, all due to him not being able to be instinctive with his decisions.

Once again, he has unbelievable potential on defense, but the offensive stuff will continue to hold him back. Especially on a Heat team where floor spacing is absolutely necessary next to the roster’s top dogs, that must be added for him to have a major role in the future.

 

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Some Possible Undrafted Gems that Miami Should Have their Eyes On

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While I focused on some guys in this draft that should definitely be in the undrafted market in my last piece, this group of guys will make Thursday night much more interesting from a Heat perspective.

There’s a good chance they can fall through the cracks on draft night, while other mock drafts have them at the very end of the second round. As I’ve focused on in the past, if sign and trades are facilitated in the near future, Miami can have some fun in this market to fill roster spots.

These pick-ups would not be like past evaluations where they’re looking for the most upside. This team is pushing for contention, and if they’re going to pick somebody up in that department, it will be somebody who is an NBA ready prospect that is capable of producing in some way immediately.

So, let’s just hop right into 3 possible prospects that Miami should have their eye on late Thursday night…

Duane Washington Jr

6’3, 210 Pound Guard, Ohio State

When Miami’s evaluating these type of players, there must be a specific skill that stands out to them to give the player an opportunity. In most instances, that skill will be a three-level scoring ability, and Duane Washington Jr has just that and more.

There are a few names that I’ve said to focus on more than others, and Washington Jr is one of those guys. A competitive young guard who can score smoothly with the ball in his hands, but looks even deadlier without it.

His best attribute by far is shooting from deep, after a scoring leap this past season with Ohio State, where he shot 37% from three. When looking at the clips above, there’s a reason that I didn’t harp on his number one ability too much: that shooting strength is clear, while other parts seem underrated.

The gravity he held at the college level from deep allowed him to showcase his athletic finishing abilities on the move. On some of the drives above, you see some of the up and under stuff that make up a pure scorer, but also some physical attacks where he uses his body for space. That’s the stuff that makes me think he will translate well to the next level.

He’s a very capable passer when he’s reading the defense, but I don’t see that as his role on an NBA roster. If the Heat were to pick him up, I see him as a guy that will be used as a spot-up guy to start, before fully evolving into an on-ball scorer off the dribble.

For some perspective, we’re talking about a possible undrafted player with this type of skill-set. He seems like a player that doesn’t need a ton of developing to be effective, which makes me think there’s no doubt that Miami would throw themselves at Washington Jr if he gets overlooked.

Chaundee Brown

6’5, 215 Pound Shooting Guard, Michigan

Chaundee Brown is a pretty interesting prospect from the Miami Heat’s eyes, due to his overall personality and play-style screaming “Miami Heat.” It seems like there’s always one of these guys in these pieces that are included just due to the comparisons with Miami’s culture, but Brown in particular has a high-level skill-set as well.

Before talking about his game, it’s important to note the true link with this name, which is Michigan head coach Juwan Howard. If this name doesn’t end up being selected in the second round on Thursday, I would bet on somebody in the Heat front office making that phone call to Howard for some information.

Aside from that, he is another one of those players that looks NBA ready. He did have a bit of a down year this past season, going from 12 PPG to 8 PPG, but the Heat love players that are willing to accept their role in any capacity.

Other than the scoring dip, he shot 49% from the field and 42% from three, but that isn’t what truly rose his stock since the end of the season. Even after not receiving an invitation to the NBA combine, he performed at an extremely high level at the G-League Elite Camp recently. And if we forget about the numbers, his game does a lot of talking when looking at the film.

He’s a super physical offensive player, can play off the ball perfectly, has a tight handle leading into a sweet pull-up, and defensive grit and toughness. Brown just looks like a guy that Miami would form into a low rotation role player, and as stated earlier, he’s a guy that would undeniably take advantage of whatever he is told.

A.J. Lawson

6’6, 180 Pound Shooting Guard, South Carolina

It has been noted that A.J. Lawson wasn’t inserted into the most ideal situation over his tenure with South Carolina, but he definitely made the most of it this past season. After making no true leap from year 1 to year 2, he jumped from 13 PPG to 16 PPG this past season.

He’s a lengthy kid with a skinny frame, while his only downfall may be true consistency from deep, which improved down the stretch of the season. He’s a good passer, can handle the rock, and knows how to get to his spots on the floor. But once again, the separation piece is a two-way ability.

Lawson is somebody who is more than capable of pressuring a ball-handler all the way down the floor. But as Heat observers know, the players that can do that on Miami’s roster don’t have much of an offensive game. Lawson, on the other hand, does.

He has a wide base on his jumper and isn’t afraid to shoot the ball with a hand in his face, as seen above. Miami will be searching for system type players if they go this avenue, and Lawson seems to be just that. A guy you can put on opposing guards to hit passing lanes, while placing him into a perfectly fitted motion offense on the other end.

Of course, there are a couple layers to this topic. For one, would the Heat choose to go this route, and secondly, would these guys even play? My answer to that would be in an ideal situation for next year’s Heat team, these type of players would be playing, since that would mean Miami completed beneficial trades to improve the top of the rotation.

While the Heat seem to have an uneventful night on Thursday with no draft picks, I believe it’ll be much more interesting that you think toward the end of the second round.

 

Everything Tradeshows is a one-stop-shop for trade show exhibit rentals and custom exhibit display purchase solutions to companies of all sizes.

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5RSN Exclusive: Kyle Lowry Looking for Deal in Range of 3 Years/$90 Million

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(With Brady Hawk)

Following up on my report of Brandon Ingram’s interest in Miami, the Heat are still very much in on Kyle Lowry, however, the deal he is looking for is in the range of $90 Million over 3 years.

In my personal opinion, I feel that the 3rd year has to be fully guaranteed. Some on the Heat are confident, but I still wouldn’t count out the Philadelphia 76ers or the Los Angeles Lakers.

With Miami’s continued pursuit of a point guard this off-season, their eyes will be locked on this free agent market, which is headlined by Lowry, with guys like Mike Conley closely following behind.

Will they be willing to make that commitment? Time will only tell, but as the clock is ticking on Jimmy Butler’s timeline, a veteran point guard who can score at all three-levels, run the offense, and defend must be a top priority. Combining that with his close relationship with Butler makes the situation even more interesting.

While some extra options and avenues seem to be opening up a bit, the focus on Lowry will remain, while other possibilities will still be on the table as free agency grows closer and closer.

5RSN Exclusive: Brandon Ingram Would Welcome Potential Trade to Miami

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(With Brady Hawk)

I can report that Brandon Ingram would be very pleased with a potential trade to Miami. Pelicans’ executive David Griffin will most likely be playing hardball if these talks were to progress.

There have been plenty of links surrounding New Orleans and Miami lately, including Lonzo Ball possibly being on the market, Pelicans’ well known interest in Duncan Robinson, and now this.

From the Heat’s perspective, they would be filling the number one hole on the roster that seems to be the toughest to fill. Three-level scorers that are also second overall picks aren’t an easy thing to come by, especially ones that are available.

This past season, Ingram shot 43% on catch and shoot threes, 48% on mid-range pull-ups, and 60% less than 10 feet from the rim. After averaging 23.8 PPG for two straight seasons on a similar amount of attempts, the level of effectiveness seems to work both ways.

While it’s clear the Heat need his type of offensive skill, Ingram would definitely benefit from unselfish facilitators like Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, while being coached up by Erik Spoelstra who is well known for elevating talent like himself.

This type of acquisition benefits both of Miami’s stars as well, since some weight gets taken off of Butler’s shoulders as a scorer, and Adebayo gets a promising counter-piece on the same timeline as himself.

Now, Kyle Lowry’s name has been floating around the Heat for quite some time, and he finds a way back into the equation in this situation.

The primary focus on their part will be trying to get talent like Lowry, before exploring any type of deals involving Ingram. On the Heat’s side of the deal, it will be very complicated and timing is everything.

So, will the timing be right for both sides of the deal to maximize talent? I guess we will find out soon, since Pelicans’ star Zion Williamson is awaiting a roster boost to contention and the Heat’s stars know they’re one piece away.

It may be complicated, but at least more and more possibilities are opening up to pounce on.

 

*****

Everything Tradeshows is a one-stop-shop for trade show exhibit rentals and custom exhibit display purchase solutions to companies of all sizes.

Visit them at EverythingTradeShows or call 954-791-8882