2023 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Victor Wembanyama makes surprise team happy

The departure of P.J. Tucker has left Miami with a troubling lack of size and toughness on the wing. It would be naive to suggest the Heat can solve all their problems with a rookie, but Brandon Miller fits cleanly on paper. At 6-foot-9, he brings size and shot-making to the perimeter and would have a pretty clear path to early minutes with the franchise (especially if the Heat decide to pivot toward youth sooner than later).

Before the season, many concerns were raised about Miller’s ability to transition to the higher level of competition in college. He’s still young and unpolished, but Alabama has deployed Miller in a feature role to great effect: he’s handling the ball, attacking defenders one-on-one, and making advanced passing reads on the move.

Most impressive is Miller’s 3-point volume: he’s shooting 42.9 percent on 7.0 attempts per game as of this writing. That, combined with his fluidity attacking downhill and getting into pull-up jumpers will have plenty of NBA teams seeing future stardom. He has been much less efficient inside the arc, however, and there are examples of him taking far too long to make a decision. That being said, his athleticism and shooting touch should spark optimism and the Heat run one of the best player development programs in the NBA.

The Heat seem to unearth interesting young talent every season. If they stick in the lottery range it could spark broader conversations about the direction of that franchise, but there’s every reason to believe a player like Miller would be in prime position to succeed under the tutelage of Erik Spoelstra.