Q: Ira, it is hard for me to understand how just having a No. 20 pick, or as you call it a middling prospect, is such a bad thing. Most any team in the NBA only has maybe one or two max players and if you’re lucky you have three on a 12-man roster. You still need at least four or five other good, quality players to form a winning team. And those are probably those No. 20 picks. So why should we be in such a rush to trade that pick for basically future considerations, when you can have a decent role player. – Barry, Deerfield Beach.
A: Because the Heat have no lack of the type of players you are talking about, players such as Haywood Highsmith, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., even Duncan Robinson, Kyle Anderson and Pelle Larsson can be those players, possibly Keshad Johnson, as well. (And that’s not even getting into a potential free-agent return by Alec Burks.) In fact, you could make a case of the Heat being stuck in the middle with too many middling players. So if you trade No. 20 in this year’s draft for a future first-round pick, you then have an enduring asset to package. After a 37-45 season, it has to be about more than middle men for the Heat.
Q: Before the Heat drafted Dwyane Wade, he led Marquette to the Final Four and showed that he could play at a high level under the pressure of the NCAA Tournament. What do you think of Walter Clayton Jr. as a draft target for the Heat? He led UF to the championship and showed a Jalen Brunson-like ability to get his shot under defensive and situational pressure. – Bob, Juno Beach.
A: The Heat already have kicked the tires there, but No. 20 appears a bit early for such a selection. However, the process and draft board remain fluid. Count me in for anyone who can create his own shot when it comes to the Heat’s stagnant offense.
Q: I know this is going to be tough for some, but Terry Rozier could come back with his mojo, which would be the 18-point scorer he was before things took a really bad turn for the worst. If so you keep him and re-sign Davion Mitchell, for all the talk about Pelle Larsson, you don’t need him and Duncan Robinson. – Douglas.
A: Which is all well and good to hope for. But also something it would be folly to count on, with no disrespect to Terry Rozier. Rarely, does a player’s game fall off a cliff and then become resurrected, at least not without a change of location. As for Pelle Larsson, that is too much of a value contract to cast aside. With the Heat’s position against the luxury tax, what the Heat need are such value contracts. And I still expect, because of the non-guaranteed portion of Duncan Robinson’s contract, that he will be elsewhere next season.