Prospects Heat Fans Should Watch in March Madness 2021

The Miami Heat have often played it fast and loose with their draft picks under president Pat Riley.

That's slated to keep them out of the 2021 NBA draft, for now at least.

Their first-round pick is headed to the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Houston Rockets to pay off a debt owed from the 2015 Goran Dragic deal. Miami also traded away its second-rounder, originally to the Portland Trail Blazers (now owned by the Atlanta Hawks) in a cost-cutting move.

So, why should Heat fans bother having draft prospects on their radar? Because it's always possible this team trades into the draft, and even if it doesn't, the franchise's history of finding undrafted talent (from Udonis Haslem and Tyler Johnson to Rodney McGruder and Duncan Robinson) shows this front office pays attention to drafts in which it's not even involved.

Since the arrows point to Miami being out of this draft, we have spotlighted three potential undrafted gems set to suit up in March Madness this weekend.

Even though Luka Garza could be on his way to sweeping the player of the year awards in men's college basketball, he might need the right coaching staff to find his NBA fit.

Offensively, he's a statistical force like few players who have passed through the NCAA in recent memory. He has the footwork and finishing ability to overpower players in the post, and his sweet shooting stroke reaches all the way past the three-point arc (40.7 percent this season). When teams overload him, he has the vision and selflessness to find open teammates.

Think Heat coach Erik Spoelstra could find a way to add that level of skill to his rotation?

Obviously, there's a catch—remember, we're talking potentially undrafted players—and in Garza's case, it's a big enough concern to potentially push him out of the draft. He's not an NBA-level athlete by any stretch of the imagination. Despite a high motor, he's slow going end-to-end and even slower moving side-to-side. He could get skewered by pick-and-roll attacks to the point he's unplayable.

But for a post-draft dart throw, Miami could make a small wager on big-time talent.

Garza's second-seeded Hawkeyes open with 15th-seeded Grand Canyon on Saturday (6:25 p.m. ET on TBS).

Herbert Jones took the long road to becoming an NBA prospect.

But in each of his four seasons at Alabama, his game grew. It was mostly incremental improvements along the way, but this year brought about the exponential boost that should get him on big-league radars.

His skill set is the embodiment of the whole being greater than the individual parts. His defense is relentless, but his offense features an intriguing blend of the small things that help teams win games. He can move the basketball, space the floor and provide scoring support in a pinch.

He isn't an NBA star in the making, but Miami has that covered with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo (and, maybe sooner rather than later, Tyler Herro). This is about adding depth and potentially developing a rotation piece, and Jones could be on that trajectory.

The right conditioning program could bring the best out of Ron Harper Jr. That just so happens to be a specialty of this franchise.

Harper is making the most of what he has, but the 6'6", 245-pounder might need to shed some weight to handle defensive assignments on the NBA perimeter. Miami's military-style approach to strength and conditioning could be just what he needs.

Harper has as strong a feel for the game as you'd expect from the son of someone who played 15 years in the NBA and won titles with Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers. In addition, Harper is a creative passer, clever finisher and good enough shooter to keep defenses honest.

Harper's 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights open Friday against seventh-seeded Clemson (9:20 p.m. ET on TBS).