Forget the draft, tanking for a high lottery pick is not Heat's style
Back in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat possessed a rare lottery pick and ended up drafting Dwyane Wade out of Marquette.
That decision worked out pretty well for the Heat franchise, though Pat Riley had to be convinced by others in the front office to chose him over center Chris Kaman.
Wade would end up representing the only lottery pick that has mattered for the Heat while Riley has been in charge.
In an era of teams tanking and executives overvaluing first round picks because of a player's potential relative to their comparatively inexpensive rookie-scale contracts, the Pat Riley era of the Heat dating back to 1995 has largely eschewed from building teams with the hope and promise of the crapshoot that is the first round of the draft.
Kurt Thomas was selected 10th overall that year, before Riley was hired, and carved out a lengthy NBA career once he was traded away after just two seasons to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for veteran Jamal Mashburn. Two years later, they selected Charles Smith out of New Mexico with the 26th pick, but he lasted just one season.
Because the NBA does not allow teams to trade away first-round draft picks in consecutive years, the Heat continued to alternate trading picks away and selecting players deep in the first round due to their regular-season success. This trend continued through 1999, in which they selected Tim James out of the University of Miami, but he also lasted just one season.
After a seven-year absence and for the first time with Riley on board, the Heat were once again back in the lottery with the No. 10 selection in 2002 and used it on Caron Butler. Though he was a fan favorite and flourished quickly, he was sent packing along with Lamar Odom and Brian Grant to the Los Angeles Lakers for legendary big man Shaquille O'Neal after two seasons in Miami.
Miami went a different direction a year after drafting Wade by selecting versatile forward Dorell Wright directly out of high school with the intention of taking their time to develop him. While he had his moments with the Heat, primarily as a reserve, his playing time was infrequent and never averaged more than eight points per game before leaving after six seasons to join the Golden State Warriors in 2010.
After drafting Wright, the Heat struck out in the first round with Wayne Simien (2005), Daequan Cook (2006) and notably Michael Beasley in 2008, when they had the second overall pick and a chance to select Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon or Brook Lopez. Though Beasley is currently playing well in a reserve role in his third stint with the Heat, the team had high hopes for him after losing out to the Chicago Bulls for the right to draft Derrick Rose first overall.
Riley has since traded away several first-round picks, beginning in 2010 with the LeBron James and Chris Bosh sign-and-trade deals with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors in addition to trading away Cook for a lower second-round pick to accommodate the salaries of the Big 3.
Just last month, the Heat traded point guard Norris Cole, a first-round draft day acquisition in 2011, for proven veteran point guard Goran Dragic in a package that also included two future first-round picks.
All of it is part of a consistent trend in which the Heat have had more success luring prized free agents or acquiring stars via trade while cultivating talent from just about anywhere else but the first round to round out the roster.
"We are open to anything with player development -- finding players, developing players, using D-League, using overseas, using second round picks that maybe played overseas and then bring them into the system, or non-drafted guys that have been through our summer league or training camps," said head coach Erik Spoelstra of his team's approach.
The most recognizable of these types of players is co-captain Udonis Haslem, who went undrafted and spent a year playing in France before joining the team alongside Wade in 2003. James Ennis spent a year in Australia after he was acquired by the Heat on the day of the 2013 draft before getting his chance this season.
The team also got a huge boost with the addition of dominant center Hassan Whiteside, who was playing in the D-League after stints in China and Lebanon. His production since he was signed mid-season has already eclipsed lottery picks on bad teams who are consistently out of the playoffs.
Since the organization took over the basketball operations of their NBA Development League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, in 2013, the team is taking advantage of the partnership as a virtual farm system in which players such as Tyler Johnson and Henry Walker can work on their game before joining the Heat. Several players who were in the Heat's training camp roster continued on with the Skyforce, where they can develop their skills within the Heat's culture.
The results speak for themselves, with the Heat failing to reach the playoffs just three times in the nearly twenty years since Riley was brought onboard. Wade and Haslem have only missed the playoffs once in their 11-year careers and have won three championships together.
Spoelstra has insisted that tanking is not in the Heat's DNA, and why would it when history has only proven that the team can rely on attracting top players to Miami while zeroing in on players with potential elsewhere at a fraction of the cost.
While drafting Wade set the Heat up for consistent success for more then a decade, relying on drafting top talent in the lottery may have proven successful with other teams, but it is simply not the Heat's way.
You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.
