Drafting has become one of the clearest ways to measure how sharp a front office really is, and the Miami Heat have had to get better at it. LeBron James leaving for Cleveland in 2014 and Dwyane Wade heading to Chicago in 2016 pushed the franchise into a new phase, and since then the Heat have done a better job than most at finding value where others missed it.
The headliner of that stretch is Bam Adebayo, taken 14th in the 2017 draft. Miami knew quickly that he was better than Hassan Whiteside, even if the starting job did not immediately follow.
Adebayo has grown into one of the top three or four players from his draft class, which puts him in the conversation for the best pick in Heat history. He has three All-Star selections, six All-Defense nods and two Olympic gold medals, and he was the team’s second-best player during both Finals runs in 2020 and 2023.
He has also moved into the captain’s role once held by Udonis Haslem and sits 35 rebounds shy of Haslem’s team regular-season record.
Tyler Herro was another major hit. Miami grabbed him 13th in 2019, and he was third on the team in minutes during the 2020 playoff run.
His scoring touch eventually carried him to an All-Star nod in 2024-25. The only player selected after him who could reasonably be argued over Herro was Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
That same draft also included Bol Bol at No. 44, though Miami sent him to the Denver Nuggets for some chicken feed. Bol did not play in the NBA in 2025-26 and was last seen in the Philippine Basketball Association.
The 2020 draft, though, was a sore spot. Precious Achiuwa came off the board before Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley, Payton Pritchard, Jaden McDaniels and Desmond Bane, and the Heat got very little out of him.
He was fast, but not productive, and after one season in Miami he was moved in the deal that brought in Kyle Lowry in 2021. Miami even brought him back for another look before last season, but he was waived 23 days after signing.
Achiuwa later landed with the Sacramento Kings, who are in the basement, and he re-committed to them for two more years in July.
Miami did not have a 2021 pick because it had traded that selection in the Goran Dragić deal in 2015, and the next draft brought another rough outcome. The Heat selected Nikola Jović and later gave him an extension based on potential.
His confidence has been an issue, and a bad stretch in one game can swallow the whole night. He can do a little bit of everything, but not at a high level, and early position experiments may have affected him.
Even so, there is still some modest internal belief that he can be salvaged. At 27, he was taken ahead of Peyton Watson, Andrew Nemhard, Moussa Diabaté, Ryan Rollins and Vince Williams Jr., all of whom have become useful starters or rotation pieces.
The 2022 draft was another blank because Miami’s second-round pick had been stripped as punishment for the Kyle Lowry tampering probe.
Things picked back up in 2023 with Jaime Jaquez Jr., selected 18th. He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting and ninth in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2023-24.
He was not a strong 3-point shooter for Miami, but he became one of the team’s four most important players in his last season there and helped keep the bench playing fast. He still has another level to reach and is now a solid rotation player for the Milwaukee Bucks after being included in the deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kel’el Ware also went to the Bucks in that Antetokounmpo trade. Erik Spoelstra had issues with Ware’s consistency, but the big man showed real promise as a rebounder and a versatile scorer.
If he puts it all together, he could become a top-10 center or better, which is strong value for a player who slid out of the lottery at No. 15.
Miami also found something in Nikola Ðjurišić, even if his name may not ring a bell to many. Trading him in a three-team deal on draft night brought back Pelle Larsson and cash considerations.
Larsson is a third-year player on the rise and projects as a sixth or seventh man for the team in 2026-27. Ðjurišić signed a multi-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks in 2025, was waived in February, has not yet made his NBA debut, and now plays for KK Crvena zvezda.
The Heat kept that pattern going in 2025. They picked Nate Ament at No. 13 and sent him to the Bucks as part of the Antetokounmpo deal.
They also took Oweh at No. 41 and flipped him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Ryan Conwell. Miami’s draft record since Wade’s exit has had its misses, but it has also produced enough useful talent to keep the front office’s reputation intact.
In Other News...
Heat Still Have One Backcourt Decision Fans Will Debate
With training camp getting closer, Miami still has one standard roster spot open, and that alone keeps the conversation around the backcourt lively. DAngelo Russell is one possible fit, bringing the kind of veteran combo-guard presence that could give the Heat another layer of scoring behind a projected point guard rotation that already includes Davion Mitchell, Dru Smith and Tre Donaldson.
Russells path to this point has been a little unusual, with a player option for the 2026-27 season already on the books and a recent trade from the Memphis Grizzlies followed by a move to the Washington Wizards, where he has yet to appear. For Miami, the question is whether the added shot creation and depth outweigh the need to leave flexibility on the roster, a decision that could shape how the Heat sort out their guard minutes once camp opens. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Just Lost A Key Piece Of Their Development Pipeline
After 22 seasons in Miami, Eric Amsler is leaving the Heat for a new role with the Lakers, where he has reportedly accepted an assistant general manager position. Amsler has been part of the organization in a range of scouting and personnel jobs, including work with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, making him one of the more familiar faces in the teams long-running development pipeline.
For the Heat, the move is more than a front-office departure because it comes from someone who helped shape how the organization identifies and develops talent at multiple levels. Los Angeles is in the middle of an ownership transition and has been beefing up its scouting operation, so Amslers experience fits what the Lakers are trying to build. Miami, meanwhile, loses a veteran evaluator who spent a generation inside its system. [Read more 🡒]
Pelle Larsson Could Force A Heat Rotation Decision Fast
Pelle Larsson has already given the Heat a useful problem to solve, and it is the kind of early-season question that can shape a rotation before it hardens. The rookie has stood out for his defense and for the way his offense has started to look more efficient, which is why Miami is weighing whether he belongs in the starting lineup at shooting guard or whether he can make even more sense as a sixth man.
The second-unit path is not just about rewarding Larssons progress, either. It could give him more room to keep developing as a scorer while allowing Miami to sort out bigger roster fits around Andrew Wiggins, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Klay Thompson. For a team trying to balance immediate structure with long-term growth, Larsson may end up forcing a decision sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]