Will Heat make move into draft? A look at possibilities and the postdraft work that awaits

The Miami Heat does not have a pick in this year’s NBA Draft because of previous trades, but it does have a 60-player draft board prepared.

After spending nearly two weeks in Chicago last month scouting prospects at the draft combine and events surrounding the combine, the Heat’s front office believes it’s prepared if it somehow acquires a pick in Thursday’s two-round draft that will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (8 p.m., ABC/ESPN) or even if it’s left choosing from only undrafted options.

“We’re going to prepare for everything,” said Adam Simon, the Heat’s assistant general manager and vice president of basketball operations. “But without a pick, you’re certainly going to make sure that you’re identifying the players that could potentially get picked in the second round and players that could go undrafted.”

The Heat did not host any predraft workouts at FTX Arena, instead opting to hit the road and scout players. Currently without a selection, it’s a challenge to convince prospects to prioritize Miami for a workout over other NBA teams with picks.

The Heat, currently one of four teams without a pick in this year’s draft, could trade into the draft or buy a selection with the $5.6 million that it still has available to include in 2020-21 transactions before the NBA calendar flips at the start of August. That money doesn’t count against the salary cap.

Picks that are purchased come in the second round, as cash can’t be the only asset sent out in a trade for a first-round selection. Players whom the Heat has landed in the second round (either with their own second-round pick or through a trade) include KZ Okpala at No. 32 in 2019, Josh Richardson at No. 40 in 2015, James Ennis at No. 50 in 2013, Justin Hamilton at No. 45 in 2012, Dexter Pittman at No. 32 in 2010, Mario Chalmers at No. 34 in 2008, and Rasual Butler at No. 53 in 2002.

If the Heat’s decision-makers see value — a prospect they have high on their board who slips in the draft — there will be a discussion regarding what the team is willing to give up to acquire a pick to select that player.

“We’ll have a conversation,” Simon said, as the Heat drafted Precious Achiuwa with the 20th overall pick last year. “We’re basically doing our board. We can’t figure out what the other board or the mock drafts, that’s somebody else’s board. That’s just how they look at it. We do ours. What we kind of do is say, all right even though we know this player is going to go in the top five or top 10, would we really want that player? Then we go through and say, ‘Hey, what would we give up to get that player?’ That should be regardless of where that player is in the draft.”

If the Heat’s front office decides it wants to make an attempt to move into the draft, the conversation turns to what it will take to get a deal done.

“What you really need is someone to make a deal with you,” Simon said. “So if you have another team that might have interest in trading their pick, that’s when you have it on the board and you know that going in. Sometimes trades can be done before the night of the draft and other times it’s happening like in real time when you’re on the clock. The team might trade the pick when the players they want are gone. Everyone looks at it differently. Also, some teams have multiple picks, right? So they might want to move a pick for a future pick, and teams like us might want to get in and what are we willing to spend.”

An argument can be made against trading for or purchasing a second-round pick because of the success the Heat has had in grooming undrafted talent. The list of undrafted players Miami has signed and developed in recent seasons includes Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Gabe Vincent and Chris Silva, with Rodney McGruder, Tyler Johnson and Udonis Haslem among the Heat’s past undrafted success stories.

“You could have a player that you really like. Until that 60th pick is called, that player could be selected,” Simon said of pursuing undrafted players. “So you got to have multiple options, multiple players that you have interest in. Then the hope is the agent, whatever players don’t get selected, you hope that the agents who are representing those players think that your situation is the best for their player. That was what happened with Duncan.”

Signing undrafted players will be an important part of building the Heat’s summer league roster, with so much uncertainty regarding who will be on the team when it opens summer league play during the first week of August.

The Heat’s young trio of Achiuwa, Okpala and Vincent are currently playing for Nigeria in the Tokyo Olympics. There’s a chance Achiuwa, Okpala and Vincent could be back in Las Vegas to take part in summer league with the Heat if Nigeria does not advance past group play, which concludes Aug. 1.

Max Strus, who spent last season as one of the Heat’s two-way contract players, and Omer Yurtseven, who signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Heat in the final days of this past regular season, are candidates to fill spots on Miami’s summer league roster. But, as of now, there won’t be a 2021 draft pick who’s on the team because the Heat does not have a selection.

“These are the questions that we have to decide,” Simon said when asked about putting together the Heat’s summer league roster. “How many veterans like G Leaguers and guys that have played in Europe, how many of those guys do you want to commit to before the draft? For that exact reason. How many spots do you want to use on your summer league team. I think it’s a mix. You want to take a look at some veterans that you like that are willing to do summer league and then add undrafted players if possible. Obviously if you get a draft pick, you add him. But everybody does it differently.”

What happened to Miami’s selections this year? The Heat’s 2021 first-round pick, which ended up at No. 18 based on its 40-32 regular-season record, was dealt as part of the 2015 trade with the Phoenix Suns for Goran Dragic, and it now belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder because of other trades. The Heat’s 2021 second-round pick, which ended up at No. 48, was traded along with Brian Roberts to the Portland Trail Blazers for cash considerations in 2016, and it’s now owned by the Atlanta Hawks.

The Heat has plenty of decisions to make in the coming days, with free agency opening at 6 p.m. on Monday. There are 12 players from Miami’s season-ending roster who could become free agents this summer.

“With us not having a pick, we just have to do the best we can with all the information we have,” Simon said. “The video that we have, the breakdowns, whatever we’ve seen in person and just try to prepare the best we can.”

HEAT’S LAS VEGAS SUMMER SCHEDULE

After playing two games in Sacramento as part of the California Classic on Aug. 3 and 4, the Heat will play five games in the Las Vegas Summer League that will be held from Aug. 8-17.

The Las Vegas schedule was released Wednesday, with the Heat’s summer team set to face the Nuggets on Aug. 8 at 10 p.m. (NBA TV), the Grizzlies on Aug. 11 at 5 p.m. (NBA TV), the Jazz on Aug. 13 at 5 p.m. (ESPNU), and the Hawks on Aug. 14 at 4 p.m. (ESPN2). The Heat’s fifth game will either be played on Aug. 16 or 17, with the opponent and game time determined later.