Miami Heat: 5 storylines to watch in the 2017 NBA Draft Combine

The Miami Heat actually own a first round pick this season. Thus, we should pay attention to what the top prospects do at the NBA Draft Combine.

Unlike most of the other franchises in the lottery this season, the Miami Heat don’t really care to build through the NBA Draft. We need no further proof than to look back on 2016-17, particularly halfway through the season when Miami had a tasty 11-30 record.

Just about any other team would have started trading off assets to initiate the tank job. But not the Heat. Culture this, culture that, you know the spiel. For better or worse, Pat Riley and Co. are firmly opposed to that specific strategy. (Probably because they’ve gotten burned badly before.)

Fast forward to the end of the season: the Heat not only missed the playoffs, but also their chance for a top-five pick in a stacked draft class. One could argue the way Miami’s year ended — winning 30 of its final 41 games and Erik Spoelstra finally getting recognition as an elite head coach — is actually better for the team’s future.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Riley’s job also got a lot harder as a result of that incredible close. If you can land a decent role player at No. 14, consider yourself lucky. And that’s the spot the Heat will almost certainly (98.2 percent likelihood) have to pick from.

With the televised portion of the 2017 NBA Draft Combine starting Thursday, it’s as good a time as any to start paying attention to the prospects Riley will have to choose from. There are various solid options, and it’ll be intriguing to see which route Miami takes; will they go best player available or draft based on need?

Here are five storylines Heat fans should be aware of heading into the combine.