The Miami Heat have been unexpectedly active over the last few days, pulling the trigger on a number of roster moves. Trading away Shabazz Napier and Zoran Dragic as well as waiving Henry Walker helped relieve salary expenses while clearing up a roster that was glutted at several positions.
They also have reemphasized the notion that the team is fully committed to this season while putting little stock in the long-term future.
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The draft has seemingly meant less to team president Pat Riley than it has to other NBA executives. Perhaps it’s his proven track records of building the team through trades or free agency while merely boosting a veteran core with the occasional draft pick. Maybe they’ve simply made bad choices.
The recent moves clearly have a “win now” feel to them, and the team has definitely mortgaged a chunk of its future. As broken down by Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, Miami won’t likely be an active player in upcoming drafts for a while:
"The trade with the Celtics (for Dragic) put the Heat even deeper into draft debt, the Heat now owe a future first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers (likely 2016) from the 2010 LeBron James sign-and-trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers; a pair of future first-round picks to the Phoenix Suns (likely 2018 and 2021) from last season’s acquisition of the Dragics; a 2016 second-round pick to the Celtics from the 2014 Joel Anthony salary dump; a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks (likely 2017) from the Ennis draft-night acquisition; a 2019 second-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves from the 2014 draft-night draft with the Charlotte Hornets to acquire Napier; and now this 2020 second-round pick."
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Was the sacrifice worth it? That’s impossible to determine but one is inclined to give Riley the benefit of the doubt considering his track record of success. The team’s recently-concluded “Big 3” era provides a glimpse of how little value the franchise places on the draft.
Since 2010, the Heat have selected a total nine players in six different drafts. Two of those, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, are rookies. Of the other seven players, only one has ever played in a game at the NBA level for Miami (Dexter Pittman).
Another selection, P.J. Hairston, was immediately traded to Charlotte for the rights to Napier, whose tenure with the Heat ended days ago.
Of course, Miami has still managed a great deal of success over that same time span, with four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals (resulting in two championships) while their bid to make the playoffs last season was derailed by season-ending injuries to two starters (Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts).
It’s hard to deny that Riley’s plan works even as other teams scramble to acquire more and more draft picks without ever coming close to the same level of success that Miami has enjoyed.
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Ultimately it shows that there isn’t one right way to build a franchise but the Heat have found a system that works for them.
With Bosh and Goran Dragic on the roster for four more seasons together and Dwyane Wade still playing at a high level – when healthy – the veteran core is set. Hassan Whiteside’s ceiling might be as a future All-Star and the team is certainly poised to secure him to a long-term deal next summer.
Winslow and Richardson both have tremendous value as tenacious defenders that can be used in multiple roles. And Riley is still capable of luring quality veteran role players (like Gerald Green and Amar’e Stoudemire) at a tremendous discount.
The Heat are legitimate contenders once more, even if there are real concerns about their window of opportunity. And somehow they’ve managed to do that while de-emphasizing the draft, long-considered the typical avenue for building a team. But teams aren’t measured in the record books by how they used the draft or if their rosters where “built vs. bought”.
The only barometer for success is winning, something the Heat are poised to continue doing this season
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