Heat looking for immediate contribution from potential draft picks
MIAMI -- The Heat organization apparently believes there are 20 top-quality prospects available in this year's draft.
Unfortunately for Miami, the Heat's first selection in the draft is not until No. 26.
The draft is set for June 26 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and the Heat -- who also have pick No. 55 in the second round -- is hoping one of those coveted 20 players will fall to them.
"We need a couple of breaks," said Chet Kammerer, the Heat's vice president of player personnel.
"We are more about having a player contribute immediately," Kammerer said. "When I say we have 20 players we like, that's because we eliminate people we think could be good, but you are going to have to wait two years.
"Because of our situation (as championship contenders), we prefer to draft someone who can contribute immediately. (Some other organizations) are looking long-term."
In fact, the Heat are looking so short-term that it would not be a surprise at all if they trade their pick for a veteran player if they thought that would help them more next season.
But assuming they hold on to the pick, the Heat are likely to get a perimeter player. That's where the draft is deepest, Kammerer said, and it matches up with some of the Heat's biggest needs:
-- Point guard could be a target considering starter Mario Chalmers finished the season poorly and is a free agent.
-- Shooting guard/wing could be a target considering the age and healthy and free agency questions that surround Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen.
If LeBron James were to leave in free agency, there is obviously no replacing him at No. 26 in the draft ... or at any spot. But even if James were to stay, a little depth at small forward would not hurt.
"I think the wing position has the most depth," Kammerer said. "I think the power forwards and centers are pretty limited -- there a few, but it's not really deep there.
"But I think there are a lot of 1s, 2s and 3s."
That's not to say that a rebounder and rim protector would not be of value to Miami, it's just that those type players are harder to find.
Connecticut point guard Shabazz Napier had been consistently linked to the Heat in more than one mock draft.
Kammerer was asked if Napier's lack of height -- he's 6-0 -- would keep the Heat from being interested in him in the first round.
"I'd rather not comment on any of the players who are in our wheelhouse," Kammerer said.
Hint: That means Napier is in the Heat's "wheelhouse".
But who else is?
If it's not Napier or Syracuse's Tyler Ennis or Missouri's Jordan Clarkson, then it could be a talented but under-the-radar point guard as 6-6 Spencer Dinwiddle of Colorado -- as long as the medical reports on his surgically repaired knee are positive.
The last rookie draft pick to make the Heat roster was also a point guard: Norris Cole in 2011, when he was selected 28th by the Bulls and traded to the Heat.
If not a point guard, the Heat could choose a shooting guard such as 6-6 Joe Harris of Virginia, 6-5 C.J. Wilcox of Washington or 6-5 P.J. Hairston of North Carolina.
Among the available wings could be 6-8 T.J. Warren of NC State, 6-7 Glenn Robinson III of Michigan or 6-6 K.J. McDaniels of Clemson.
Athletic big men are rare, Kammerer said, but maybe the Heat might take a shot at Michigan's Mitch McGary or Florida's Patric Young, both 6-10.
Don't rule out an international player, but it would be a surprise, given the Heat's stated goals. Kammerer said he and the rest of the Heat scouts have watched international players carefully.
"We have scouts we rely on in South America, Serbia, Turkey, Israel, Greece ...," said Kammerer, who said he recently made a couple of European scouting missions. "I'm not saying we're going to draft an international player, but we've looked at a lot of them."
Here are a few more nuggets from Kammerer:
-- On a possible trade up in the draft or even trading the pick for a veteran player: "That's not really my call. There's potential we can trade up. There's potential we can trade down. There are usually opportunities to do that. Whether it will happen, I don't know."
-- On how the Heat's in-flux roster affects the organization's draft plans: "It's hard enough to pick (the right) player. We will go with the best player on our board -- who we think has the highest percentage of succeeding and being an NBA player."
-- If a highly ranked player starts to slide way below projections does that cause the Heat to reassess its own thinking on that prospect? "A little bit, but usually the draft goes the way we think it will. There are a few exceptions. But if you've really done your homework, (it won't affect you)."
