Heat enters draft with No. 18 pick, but will it keep that selection? A look at all the options

The Miami Heat’s season ended in the NBA Finals less than two weeks ago, but the busiest stretch of the offseason is already here.

It begins with Thursday’s NBA Draft (8 p.m., ESPN) held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Heat’s lone pick in this year’s two-round draft is in the first round at No. 18 overall, which is expected to come between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday and is eligible to be traded.

Following the draft, contract options around the league need to be decided on by June 29 and free agency opens June 30. Then the Heat opens summer league action on July 3 in Sacramento before taking part in Las Vegas summer league.

“It’s just onward with us. It’s onward, it’s onward. What’s next?” Heat president Pat Riley said during his season-ending press conference earlier this week. “So, we just finished and I’m diving deep into a draft we have to get ready for Thursday night and free agency next week.”

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The question is whether the Heat will take advantage of its first-round opportunity to add a cost-friendly player on a rookie-scale contract or instead use its first-round selection as an attractive trade chip to acquire win-now talent.

How the Portland Trail Blazers handle the No. 3 overall pick in the draft could determine the answer to that question, as the belief is that Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard would rather Portland trade the third pick to add win-now players to immediately improve the team’s odds of again becoming a contending team in the Western Conference. If the Trail Blazers keep the No. 3 pick and get younger, Lillard could decide to take his career elsewhere instead of going through another rebuild.

While Lillard has yet to publicly request the Trail Blazers trade him, the Heat is expected to be among the teams that will pursue a deal for Lillard if he does become available. This complex trade likely wouldn’t be completed on such short notice on draft night, but the Heat could select a player for the Trail Blazers at No. 18 if that pick is part of such a move.

If the Heat does keep its first-round pick, it would mark the first time it picks at No. 18 in franchise history. Among the best players drafted 18th overall include James Posey (1999), Quentin Richardson (2000), David West (2003), J.R. Smith (2004), JaVale McGee (2008) and Eric Bledsoe (2010).

Among the prospects projected to be drafted in the Heat’s range in the first round are Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr., Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, Connecticut guard Jordan Hawkins, Kentucky guard Cason Wallace, Michigan wing Jett Howard and guard Kobe Bufkin, Baylor guard Keyonte George, Santa Clara guard Brandin Podziemski, Marquette forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Alabama forward Noah Clowney, Iowa forward Kris Murray, UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., Duke center Dereck Lively, Kansas wing Gradey Dick, G League Ignite forward Leonard Miller and international prospects Rayan Rupert, James Nnaji and Bilal Coulibaly.

“I’ve always been a talent-first guy,” Riley said of the Heat roster’s needs entering the draft. “So the draft will either be best player available or positional need. There are a lot of good players there. So probably I would say more overall wing size and length. I mean, that’s what I think everybody is looking for and multiple position players, especially ball-handling players that are two-way kinds of players. ... And they have to be able to shoot the ball. If they can’t shoot the ball, then you better be really great at something else.”

Prosper, who is listed at 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, might be the prospect in the Heat’s range who best fits that mold. While his shooting will need to improve after making 39 of 115 (33.9 percent) of his threes as a junior last season, he’s known as en excellent athlete who projects to be a defensive weapon on the NBA level with his versatility.

ESPN’s latest mock draft has the Heat selecting Smith at No. 18, explaining the pick this way: “His creative on-ball chops and strong reputation coming out of high school have kept his name in all these conversations, but a difficult, injury-plagued freshman season at Arkansas ultimately made it difficult for him to build a ton of momentum.”

The Ringer’s latest mock draft has the Heat taking Jaquez at No. 18, noting that “Jaquez makes perfect sense considering Miami’s needs for experience and size at the wing position. Jaquez provides defensive versatility and wouldn’t compromise Miami’s ability to have multiple ball handlers on the floor, either.”

The Heat does not currently hold a second-round selection in this year’s draft — that pick, which is 50th overall, will be conveyed to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of previous trades. Along with trading for a second-round selection, Miami could also buy its way into the second round if it chooses to with the help of $6.4 million that it has available to purchase such a pick — money that doesn’t count against the salary cap.

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

“I think we’re in a good position,” said Adam Simon, the Heat’s vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager. “Obviously, you’re prepared for anything. Move-up scenarios, trade back, trade out. So we prepare for as many players as we think will be in play, whether it’s our 18th pick or whether it’s second round or the non-drafted. We want to prepare for all of them.”

The Heat’s most recent first-round pick came last year when it drafted Serbian forward Nikola Jovic. The Heat’s other recent first-round picks include forward Precious Achiuwa in 2020, guard Tyler Herro in 2019 and center Bam Adebayo in 2017.

While trading out of the first round certainly can’t be ruled out, Riley understands the importance of draft picks with the new CBA punishing teams more than ever for expensive rosters.

“I think you have to take into account that the draft is important, younger players on rookie-scale contracts that can play,” Riley said. “I think our development program has proven that these guys can play if you expose them somewhat to big moments.”

DRAFT WATCH PARTY

The Heat is hosting a draft watch party at Kaseya Center’s outdoor AT&T East Plaza on Thursday, with doors opening at 7 p.m.

Admission to the event is free, but those planning to attend must register online for tickets at the team’s website. Parking will be available in the arena’s P2 garage for $10 per vehicle.

Those in attendance will watch the television broadcast of the NBA Draft. Select concessions and retail locations will be open inside Kaseya Center during the event.