Miami Heat: 5 biggest NBA Draft mistakes under Pat Riley
By Frank Urbina
2. 2012 NBA Draft — Trading down and missing out on Draymond Green
I fully admit this one might not be totally fair on my part. After all, 30 teams missed on Draymond Green in the 2012 NBA Draft — lest we forget that the Golden State Warriors owned the 30th pick that night and actually took big man Festus Ezeli with it before using their 35th pick on Green.
Meanwhile, the Heat didn’t want to add another salary to their roster before free agency, especially one for an unproven talent that late in the first round. So they traded their No. 27 selection, which wound up being Arnett Moultrie, to the Sixers, in exchange for a draft-and-stash player in Justin Hamilton at No. 45.
Had the Heat taken the Michigan State power forward, is it certain he would have developed into the guy he is today? Could he have, as a second-year player in 2014, changed the result against the Spurs in that embarrassing Finals defeat?
Impossible to know. However, one well-respected draft pundit saw the fit as making sense, even before anyone had made a single pick in 2012. In ESPN‘s Chad Ford’s own words:
"“The Heat need players with experience who excel in bringing out the best in their teammates. Green can be a point-forward type who does a little bit of everything. Think of him as a better-passing Udonis Haslem. He can shoot, handle the ball, pass like a guard and isn’t afraid to bang in the paint. There’s little he can’t do.”"
Look, we can praise Riley for everything he’s done for the Heat while still being frustrated he didn’t see something that looks obvious in hindsight — especially regarding a game-changer like Green, who exhibited signs of being a Riley-type talent even in college.
It was a brutal missed opportunity, and one that still stings five years later.