3 Players Heat Should Target in the Draft

The Miami Heat hold the No. 20 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, and while they could use that selection in an effort to get another star player to pair with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, it's likely they end up using it to add to their depth. 

The Heat are pretty good at this whole drafting thing. Adebayo is a star. Tyler Herro is on the path to becoming one. There's little doubt the team will find value at No. 20. 

But which players should they be focusing on? Let's take a look at three names who would make sense for Miami. 

You can never have too many productive wings in the NBA, and RJ Hampton has the potential to be one. 

Yes, there are questions about his perimeter shooting, but that's the type of skill set that can be refined and improved upon at the NBA level. Would you bet against the Heat getting the most out of the 19-year-old after the development of players like Adebayo, Herro, Kendrick Nunn or Duncan Robinson?

Jeremy Woo of SI.com noted that Hampton has a "plus athletic profile" but the "need for additional seasoning after a challenging time in Australia's NBL."

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman added that his "shooting remains a key swing skill" and that he should immediately "add value by attacking in transition, getting downhill off ball screens and adding secondary playmaking."

Hampton is exactly the type of player the Heat should want to fall to them at No. 20, though he may not even get out of the lottery. His draft range seems to have a large variance. But a potential project with his level of upside seems tailor-made for this organization. 

The Athletic's Sam Vecenie made a compelling argument for Tyrese Maxey as a target for Miami:

"If you buy into Maxey being a secondary ball-handler who can shoot, this pick makes sense. Kendrick Nunn has not been reliable in the playoffs, and Goran Dragic is a free agent this year. Maxey is a tough kid with a terrific, powerful frame that looks like that of a free safety. He's 6'3" with a 6'6" wingspan. That often fits in Miami. He also has a real personality to him and is thought to be a great kid and a tremendous worker. More than the non-basketball stuff, though, Maxey is a real threat as an on-ball scoring guard with great craft. He finishes well at the basket, has a terrific floater game and does a great job getting downhill to get into the paint. He's also a strong on-ball defender."

Oh, and he's a Kentucky guy, like Adebayo and Herro. Dipping into the John Calipari well has worked out just fine for Miami. 

Maxey averaged 14 points and 3.2 assists per game in his lone season at Kentucky, though he shot a disappointing 29.2 percent from three. Like Hampton, that's going to be an important skill set for him to improve.

The 20-year-old ticks off a lot of boxes for Miami and would make sense on the Heat.  

Goran Dragic's future in Miami is uncertain, and Nunn was a disappointment in the playoffs. So adding another player capable of running the offense would make sense. 

Tyrell Terry perhaps isn't a pure point guard and is more of a combo guard, though with Butler and Adebayo often initiating the offense, that works in Miami.

The 20-year-old averaged 14.6 points and 3.2 assists as a freshman, but the skill he offers above all else is excellent shooting, hitting on 40.8 percent of threes for Stanford. 

You can never have enough shooting, and Miami's postseason run came on the back of its excellent defense and fluid, floor-spacing offense. Terry would give the Heat another player capable of playing on and off the ball, with Erik Spoelstra trusting a rookie in Herro in both capacities during the playoffs. 

Terry's draft range seems to be anywhere from the late teens to the early second round, so this might be a touch high for him. Wasserman reported the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in him, though, so it's possible he doesn't get past No. 21. Regardless, purely from a skill-set perspective, he'd make a lot of sense in Miami.