In a late lottery position that the Miami Heat organization finds themselves in this NBA draft, as they will be selecting with the 13th overall pick if it isn’t moved, there are three different tiers that you can box players into.

The top tier is the player that slides in the first hour of the NBA draft. A guy that was supposed to be a sure top 10 pick somehow inches closer and closer to you at that late lottery slot, creating an opportunity to just select that high end talent.

The next tier is the group of players that are projected around your pick all the way heading up to the draft. Experts and analysts try to predict where teams will ultimately lean, and seem to come up with the same four or five players that are the most likely options.

Then there’s the final tier: a tier the Miami Heat have lived in often.

The general big board never aligns with the Miami Heat’s personal big board. Guys that are being projected lower than pick 13 could be looked at a lot more positive inside the Kaseya Center right now.

So when looking into the wings in this first round, they are pretty simply spread out into these three brackets.

That first tier player to keep an eye on would be Nate Ament. He’s often projected to land around the 10 range, but if he slides a bit, it’ll put Miami in a position to see if his upside is worth the swing.

You can see the talent upside for yourself here

The mid range pull-ups, 3 point shot at his size

Has the ability to handle and can create his own shot over defenders due to that size

The issue is that his efficiency just hasn’t been great

Talent is there but needs work pic.twitter.com/2j23ssJGoH

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) May 26, 2026

This 6 foot 9 wing out of Tennessee is the type of player that you would be taking a chance on to really develop into his full abilities.

Ament had some efficiency problems this past season, as he shot 40% from the field and 33% from three.

But if you take a look at his game, you will notice the tools are there. Handling on the move in transition, mid-range bag work due to his height advantage, and the ability to stretch the floor from deep.

He would sort of be in the Nikola Jovic pipeline with his early NBA style, but Miami would have to lean into his skill more than they did with rookie year Jovic.

I’m a fan of taking upside players with this pick, but it has to be a guy that can actually attain that year to year growth.

Downhill stuff has major upside as well if he taps into it more

Once again just needs a finishing uptick

This is a pick where you’d be taking a chance because a high level talent fell out the top 10

You’d be getting positional size, plus a potential offensive outlet pic.twitter.com/St3ITADrOf

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) May 26, 2026

The second tier player in this draft would definitely be Yaxel Lendeborg. He’s as NBA ready as it gets due to his 6 foot 9, 240 pound frame.

Plus, he will be 24 years old by opening night.

He has definite skills across the board on both ends of the floor: can overpower defenders inside, can score off the dribble and off the catch, and shows the ability to move around the defensive scale quite a bit.

Whether it’s half court hoops or transition, he’s really under control with the basketball in his hands

Finishing on the move, getting position down low: he’s a really good player inside

Can play both sides of a pick and roll and should pose problems to smaller teams pic.twitter.com/IKtrY17wd6

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) May 26, 2026

But if you’re Miami, I’m not sure a ready to play 24 year old is the move with the current position of this roster.

If they’re selecting at 13, it means they struck out on Giannis Antetokounmpo or other big names, which means the focus needs to be about the youth and future.

Upside is way more valuable than floor at this current moment, which is the opposite of the Jimmy Butler years where they were valuing different things.

Next up let me try and blend the last two styles together

Dailyn Swain is just an interesting prospect for his quick first step and attacking ability

Can really finish in traffic and will definitely translate to the next level

Breaks down defenders well 1-on-1 pic.twitter.com/UqNkmVRiHd

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) May 26, 2026

Lastly, let’s get into that third tier of guys that could probably be higher on Miami’s board than the general public.

Dailyn Swain is the perfect example of a guy with definite upside, but also the ability to fit into their young core now.

6 foot 6 wing out of Texas with a 6 foot 10 wingspan just has a natural ability as an off the dribble slasher. A reliable finisher on the move, but just extremely strong when he’s heading downhill.

Does a lot of good things on the basketball court: makes plays defensively, the right reads as a passer, and rebounds well for his size.

The main question is about his aggression and outside shooting. Yes he shot 34% from deep with a jumper that doesn’t seem to have clear problems, but he was only attempting 2.6 a night.

He passed up a lot of good looks as defenses would tempt him by going under. If the shot confidence can grow, he would be a really intriguing player that Miami should definitely value.

Another name to squeak in within this tier would be Karim Lopez. The 6 foot 9, 225 pound wing played with the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL, which is a sign that he’s already spent time battling with grown ups.

His game is super under control: slow paced drives, tough mid-range turnarounds, and just a methodical offensive game who has spent time both on and off the ball.

His three point shot needs to be sped up a bit as he shot in the low 30’s from deep, but would be an immediate size up type defender in Miami’s system.

This is a draft with so much talent that the higher tiers will be valued more than usual. But make sure to keep an eye on some of these other guys that the Heat could show surprising interest in at pick 13.

Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow