Miami Heat: 3 big men draft prospects brought in for workouts
By Frank Urbina
As we approach the 2017 NBA Draft, news of prospects working out for the Miami Heat is starting to leak. Big men Jonathan Motley, Thomas Bryant and Ike Anigbogu are the latest.
We are less than a month away from the 2017 NBA Draft. As such, the pre-draft process is really starting to heat up. (No pun intended, I promise.) Although the Miami Heat wanted to keep which players they brought in for workouts a secret, news — as it has a tendency to do — is beginning to leak anyway.
On Friday, we discovered three more names the Heat invited to South Florida to get a closer look at — all three of which were big men. They were Jonathan Motley (Baylor), Thomas Bryant (Indiana) and Ike Anigbogu (UCLA). The news was broken by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson; here’s what he had to say:
"“The Heat, looking for another skilled young big man, quietly flew in at least four interesting draft prospects to team headquarters for private workouts this week, according to multiple sources. The [team] summoned Baylor 6-10 power forward Johnathan Motley, Indiana 6-10 center Thomas Bryant, and UCLA 6-10 power forward/center Ike Anigbogu.”"
(I know, Jackson mentions four players traveling to South Florida but that excerpt only lists three. That’s because the fourth is Ivan Rabb, and we covered that news earlier in the week.)
In that report, Jackson also sated that none of the three young bigs warrant selection at No. 14, but that isn’t totally true. Draft Express presently has Anigbogu — a freakish center prospect from the West Coast — going 15th, one selection after Miami’s. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Heat may have been getting a look at him for their late lottery pick.
Regardless, his report was interesting; let’s take it a step further and briefly break down each potential draftee. We can then figure out how each would fit on Erik Spoelstra’s roster.