![\"Miami](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-4-19-2.31PM.jpg\")
(Mandatory Credit: Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n(Mandatory Credit: Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Miami Heat made history Friday.<\/p>\n
Since the 7-10 play-in format was implemented at the start of the 2020-21 season, teams who finished<\/a> as the No. 10 seed during the regular season were 2-6 in those games. <\/p>\n Well, the Heat matched that win total themselves, becoming the first team in NBA History to win a pair of play-in games on the road to clinch the No. 8 seed in the East.<\/p>\n The Miami Heat entered the play-in with the likelihood of owning two picks ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, which is nearly two months away. However, there were draft pick ramifications for making the playoffs for not only this year, but in future seasons. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s go over them below!<\/p>\n 2025: <\/p>\n Heat do not own their own pick \u2013> goes to Oklahoma City<\/p>\n Miami owns Golden State\u2019s first-round pick, which is top-10 protected<\/p>\n Ironically enough, both of these picks are linked to the same player.<\/p>\n Miami acquired<\/a> Golden State\u2019s first-rounder in the five-team Jimmy Butler trade. And ahead of the play-in, Miami owned its own draft pick. But since it was lottery-protected, they lost the right to keep it\u2013conveying to Oklahoma City, the best team in the NBA.<\/p>\n Miami traded its 2023 first-round pick to the Clippers in the four-team deal that landed Jimmy Butler, once upon a time, in 2019. The pick had three years (2023-25) laced with protections before becoming a 2026 unprotected pick if the pick didn\u2019t convey. Days later, the Clippers flipped that pick in the Paul George blockbuster that sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back to the Thunder.<\/p>\n 2026: <\/p>\n Heat officially has their own pick<\/p>\n Well, now it\u2019s settled.<\/p>\n Miami eliminated the first two years of protections (2023-24) by sending<\/a> KZ Okpala to Oklahoma City in 2022, but unresolved were the 2025 and 2026 seasons.<\/p>\n If the Heat missed the playoffs, they would\u2019ve kept their pick and conveyed the 2025 pick to 2026 as an unprotected pick, like we mentioned above. By making the playoffs, they will own their 2026 first-round pick\u2013which can be moved as a swap or an unprotected or on the night of the 2026 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n 2027:<\/p>\n Heat send lottery-protected pick to Charlotte<\/p>\n Ah, yes, let\u2019s talk about the Terry Rozier trade<\/a>! <\/p>\n Last January, Miami acquired Terry Rozier in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a lottery-protected first-round pick in 2027. Since the Heat made the playoffs this year, these protections remain unsettled. If they had missed the playoffs, this pick would\u2019ve automatically conveyed to 2028 by virtue of the Stepien Rule, which says that first-round picks can\u2019t be traded in consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n Thus, this pick won\u2019t be settled until the 2026-27 season. <\/p>\n 2028:<\/p>\n Heat will own 2028 first-rounder if they make playoffs in 2026-27<\/p>\n 2029-31:<\/p>\n Miami still owns all three of its first-round picks in these seasons, with the 2029 only eligible to be traded as a swap right now. <\/p>\n *******************************<\/p>\n We aren\u2019t there yet, but this will be a pivotal offseason for Miami as it transitions out of the Jimmy Butler build. There are several directions they can go\u2013be it acquiring a star player or building through the draft, or a mix of both. How they draft over the next several seasons could directly affect the trajectory of the franchise. Miami has consistently nailed picks in the middle of the first-round and will be tasked with doing so again this year, whether their pick ends up being No. 18, 19 or 20. <\/p>\n What do you think about the Heat\u2019s first-round pick situation? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n To check out our other content, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter\/X\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Subscribe to our YouTube channel\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t\t\t