Now that the season is over, it’s time for the Miami Heat to look ahead toward the 2015 NBA draft.
It’s still not 100 percent certain that the Heat will have a draft pick in this year’s draft, but it’s pretty much set in stone. Miami has a top ten protected pick, meaning that as long as the Heat finish in the top ten in the draft lottery, the team will have a pick in the 2015 draft. They currently have a 91 percent chance of doing so.
However, if for whatever reason the Heat don’t finish in the top 10 of the draft lottery, they would then forfeit their pick to the Philadelphia 76ers.
For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume Miami will have a top ten draft pick—where do they go with it?
Do they draft a point guard assuming Goran Dragic signs elsewhere? Do the Heat select a big man considering Hassan Whiteside will be a free agent during the 2016 offseason?
The Heat can go in many different directions with their draft pick. This is the reason many mock drafts have the franchise selecting different players at several positions.
Let’s take a look at five prospects Miami could select with the No. 10 draft pick (the Heat’s most likely draft position):
1. Frank Kaminsky, C, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Frank Kaminsky possesses all of the size you’d want in a starting center in the NBA. He’s 7-feet tall and weighs 242 pounds.
Kaminsky became well known during Wisconsin’s run to the NCAA championship game. He scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Badgers’ upset over the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats during the Final Four. In Wisconsin’s loss to the Duke Blue Devils during the championship game, Kaminsky notched another double-double when he posted 21 points and 12 boards.
His offensive game is what is most appealing. He can post up, finish with either hand and can shoot from mid-range. He can even consistently shoot three’s and attack you off the dribble.
His weakness? His lack of athleticism and lateral movement could cause issues for him on defense. Scouts also fear that he’s too much of a tweener—not strong enough to defend centers and not quick enough to hang with power forwards.
Scott Polacek of Bleacher Report pegs the Heat selecting Kaminsky with the No. 10 overall pick. Likewise, Zach Harper of CBS Sports has Miami going with the Wisconsin product at No. 10.
This is a pick that the Heat will have to think about. For one, it is a definite possibility Miami loses Whiteside during the 2016 offseason. Secondly, do they want a player who has a very similar skill set to Chris Bosh?
Kaminsky is an intriguing player. However, the question becomes: does he fit in the Heat’s system?
Next: Kevon Looney
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2. Kevon Looney, PF, University of California, Los Angeles
Kevon Looney is a freshman power forward out of UCLA.
Simply put, scouts are comparing Looney to Lamar Odom. The UCLA product is not only 6’10,” but his skills are very similar to that of Odom’s. He can handle the ball like a point guard, as he played the position in high school.
He has been labeled as a “tweener” as people are not sure if he projects better as a power forward or a small forward. Looney has great athleticism and long arms. He averaged over a block and a steal per game in college, so his tenacity and effort on defense is there.
Looney is capable of converting on mid-range shots and attacks the basket well, leading to a good number of free throw attempts.
Scouts maintain that the 19-year-old needs to gain upper body strength and needs to learn how to develop his off-hand (left).
Bosh will slide to the four position during the 2015-16 season with Whiteside occupying the five spot. The Heat are in desperate need of scoring, especially at the big positions. They were forced to rely on Udonis Haslem heavily during the stretch run of the season, and the 37-year-old Chris Andersen is merely a defensive spark plug.
Looney could easily find a role in the Heat’s rotation if Miami looks his way.
Next: Stanley Johnson
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3. Stanley Johnson, SF, University of Arizona
The best player comparison to make when it pertains to Stanley Johnson is the artist formerly known as Ron Artest.
Artest (or Metta World Peace) won a Defensive Player of the Year award during the 2003-04 season and carved out a long NBA career as a defensive stopper and three-point specialist.
Johnson fits that mold and has the size and upper body of Artest—he’s 6’7″ and 245 pounds.
His offensive game still leaves a lot to be desired, but he’s already a defensive-ready prospect and he’s just 19 years of age.
If Luol Deng decides to decline his player option for next season, can you imagine Johnson in a starting lineup with offensive stalwarts such as Bosh and Dwyane Wade?
The Arizona product can be a long-term role player for a team that already has a couple of offensive stars.
Next: Willie Cauley-Stein
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4. Willie Cauley-Stein, C, University of Kentucky
Again, this is a position the Heat will likely look at in this year’s draft.
There is a bit of a concern that Miami may have to prepare for life after Whiteside. If Whiteside has another season like he had in 2014-15, he will command major bucks during the 2016 offseason.
Not only that, but Bosh fits better at the four rather than the five at this point in his career. He is a mid-range shooter who no longer favors the post game.
What does that mean? The Heat may need a franchise center for the next several years.
Willie Cauley-Stein is not an offensive force. In fact, you could actually compare him to the Heat’s own Chris Andersen.
He is a defensive force who projects as a lob finisher, roll target and garbage man in an NBA offense. At 7-feet and 240 pounds, he could be a team’s starting center provided they already have offensive weapons in place.
That is something that the Heat have in Wade and Bosh. If Dragic returns, Miami has three dynamic offensive weapons. Meaning a guy like Cauley-Stein could fit into the lineup as a one-man defensive wrecking crew.
The organization will have to make decisions entering the draft on what they value the most as no prospect is perfect. Do the Heat want a big man who can be an 18 point-per-game scorer in the NBA but leaves a lot to be desired on defense? Or do they want a 7-foot center who can patrol the paint on defense but lacks the skills to be a viable option on offense?
That is something that we’ll find out during the 2015 NBA draft.
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