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NBA Draft 2017: 5 targets for the Miami Heat

By David Austin Bumpus

Apr 12, 2017; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (center) greets Heat center Hassan Whiteside (left) and Heat guard Wayne Ellington (right) during a timeout in the second half against the Washington Wizards at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 110-102. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2017; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (center) greets Heat center Hassan Whiteside (left) and Heat guard Wayne Ellington (right) during a timeout in the second half against the Washington Wizards at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 110-102. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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A lot of the options may be off the board for the Miami Heat when their pick in the NBA Draft rolls around, but here are five targets for when it does.

The NBA Draft is rapidly approaching, and there has been plenty of speculation about who’s going where in the first round, specifically dealing with the top 10 picks. However, one team on the fringe of the lottery picks with some serious rebuilding to do is the Miami Heat.

The Heat have plenty of work to do this offseason, after just barely missing out on the eighth seed in the East to the Chicago Bulls this past season. They’re definitely making up for the lack of Dwyane Wade in their roster, and need to rebuild around Hassan Whiteside in their lineup in order to compete in a loaded Eastern Conference.

The team is currently in a tough spot if they are looking to rebuild, as they find themselves with the 14th pick in the NBA Draft, and don’t have a lot of pieces to be moved if they’re looking to improve their place in the draft order. As of now, they’ll likely need to take a slower approach at a rebuild than they and their fans would like to see.

There’s plenty of talent out there to pursue in free agency, but they’re still a few years out from any chance at becoming a threat again to the Cleveland Cavaliers or Boston Celtics. For now, they still have a top-15 pick, and can build up a younger talent to lead their team for the future, and have a ton of options to pick from.

To help the Heat with any issues on the big night, here are the five best targets for the Heat to pursue in the 2017 NBA Draft.

5. Donovan Mitchell, Louisville SG

While he doesn’t have the scoring capabilities of most of the other players on this list, Donovan Mitchell is easily the best defensive threat out of the bunch.

Sure, he’s not an impressive scorer, but Mitchell’s lockdown defense would make him a valuable asset to any team, much like Tony Allen and his success as a defender across multiple teams. The difference between Allen and Mitchell, however, is the potential Mitchell has to improve offensively, given how quick he learned in his time in college.

As a Cardinal, Mitchell saw his points per game average jump from 7.4 points a game as a freshman to 15.6, although that did come with a drop from 44.2 to 40.8 percent as far as his shooting percentage is concerned. He was obviously shooting more, which may be a good sign in the end to show his confidence in his offensive abilities is growing.

If Mitchell can transfer his defensive capabilities to the NBA, he’ll automatically be a useful upgrade for the Heat at shooting guard, if you count on the fact that Dion Waiters is likely gone from the roster at some point this summer.

Mitchell, like others on the list, would take some work to build up into a real NBA star, but has shown the ability to mature and grow quickly in his two years at Louisville. If he can continue at the pace he’s going, and even improve more on his defense than he already has, he could be a solid fit for the Heat in this year’s Draft.

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