Miami Heat: 5 options for pick No. 13 in 2019 NBA Draft

With the 13th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat have several options at their disposal. Above all else, they need someone who can blossom into a star.

Any good luck charm the Miami Heat had on the night of the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery failed them. They received pick No. 13, just 12 short of the grand prize.

Since the 13th selection was Miami’s projected draft spot, there isn’t much disappointment to be had at missing out on first overall. The Heat’s pick allows them to still get their choice of some of the top prospects. That is, if they decide to use it to draft a player at all.

Despite being in the lottery, Miami is still in a rather unfortunate situation. Yes, the 13th pick is obviously one of the best individual picks in the draft. However, it’s the only one the Heat have. They traded their second round pick as part of a package to acquire Shabazz Napier in 2014 and did not add any other picks through trade.

As Miami prepares for life after Dwyane Wade (for real this time), finding a gem in this draft is of the utmost importance. But in order to do that, Miami needs to decide how good its current young players are and what role they should have in the future. The only Heat players young enough to build around are Derrick Jones Jr. (21 years old), Bam Adebayo (21), Justise Winslow (22) and Josh Richardson (25).

Although all were good enough to be rotation players last year (and even starters at times), none has shown real star potential. Adebayo and Winslow can become high-quality starters/fringe All-Stars at their peak, Richardson will likely remain a solid starter, and Jones will likely top out as a solid role player/fringe starter. Miami will have to determine how good each player really is to figure out which strategy to take on draft night.

Winslow showed flashes of being a good point guard, but is it enough to deem him the primary distributor moving forward? Richardson led the team in scoring last season, but can he be the primary scorer moving forward? Should the Heat add another big man to complement Adebayo? Is Jones developed enough for them to be satisfied with the forwards they have and target a guard?

Here are five potential uses of the 13th pick for the Heat.