Complete grades for all 30 teams in the 2019 NBA Draft
Miami Heat
Tyler Herro (No. 13), KZ Okpala (No. 32)
In what will be the first season for the Miami Heat without Dwyane Wade since 2002-03, the Miami Heat wasted little time in filling the open void. Despite being one of the few NBA payers with a wingspan shorter than his actual height, Tyler Herro brings a much-beloved skill down to South Beach.
Having shot 35.5 percent from 3 during his lone season at Kentucky, Herro can get a shot off quickly and has proven great at relocating off the ball for open looks. His work coming off screens and handoffs will certainly need fine-tuning, but expect the 19-year-old to grow into a sniper role as his NBA career progresses.
"I'm a bucket" is apparently a thing Tyler Herro said to an opposing player last season. That's fun.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) June 21, 2019
Pat Riley has done an interesting job in assembling Miami’s roster with a collection of solid role players but no one guy to lead them. Their skill-sets overlap and there doesn’t seem to be any cohesion offensively.
While unlikely to develop into even an All-Star, Herro is exactly what the Heat need at this point in time. He’ll enter into a game and unclog some of the mess Riley’s created by functioning off the ball with a sole purpose to provide spacing to a team in desperate need of it.
A near 6’10” forward with an almost 7’2” wingspan, the tools are in place for KZ Okpala to dominate at the defensive end both on the perimeter and maybe, after some added weight, as a small-ball center.
Grade: B