Possible 1st round draft pick

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Deal or no deal? Heat must decide what to do at No. 20
GM Randy Pfund said there are 17 players in the draft who could join the Heat's veteran rotation, but if no one is available, the pick could be traded.
BY MICHAEL WALLACE
mwallace@MiamiHerald.com
The Heat apparently will take a wait-and-see approach into Thursday's NBA Draft before it decides what to do with its first-round pick.

The plan is to wait out the first 19 picks and hope one of the higher-profile prospects slips. If not, the next option is to see what trade best fits the Heat's needs.

The Heat holds the 20th selection in a draft general manager Randy Pfund said has about 17 players who could make an immediate impact on a veteran roster anchored by Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal.

As a result, Pfund said the Heat would enter the draft with a concrete plan, but also with a number of options that include trading the pick.

''I don't know if I can put a percentage on it,'' Pfund said Tuesday. ``But I'll say that we have options on our board that if we didn't think the player could be a contributor in the next couple of years, there's a thought that maybe we'd try to do something that gives us a chip during free agency or during the season to trade.''

The Heat also owns the No. 39 pick in the second round, but Pfund said it's possible the team won't add two new young players through the draft.

The possibility of trading a first-round pick has been a common option for the Heat since president and coach Pat Riley arrived in 1995. The Heat has traded its first-round pick five times in the 12 seasons Riley has run the franchise. And the Heat has not drafted a player who was part of the regular rotation as a rookie since Dwyane Wade was selected fifth in 2003.

The Heat did not have a first-round pick in last year's draft. The team's previous two first-round picks -- forwards Wayne Simien (29th in 2005) and Dorell Wright (19th in 2004) -- still are considered projects.

OTHER OPTIONS

So if a premier player doesn't fall to the Heat on Thursday night, there's a pretty good chance Riley and Pfund will address the team's most pressing needs during the free agency period that opens July 1. The Heat could package the pick with a veteran on the roster and trade up. Another option could include swapping the No. 20 pick for a future choice with a team that does not have a first-round selection this year such as the Mavericks or the Magic.

Riley said last month he expected decisions from center Alonzo Mourning and guard Gary Payton regarding their future before the draft. But Pfund would not say if either player plans to retire or return next season.

Mourning, 37, has a $2.7 million player option to return for a 14th season. Payton, 39, will become a free agent next week but has said he's leaning toward retirement.

Pfund suggested Tuesday that those decisions would have more of an influence on the Heat's plans in free agency than they would the draft.

For now, the plan is to wait, see and react. Ohio State center Greg Oden and Texas forward Kevin Durant head a class of about 12 players who are considered locks to go high in the draft. Included in that group are Florida's Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer, Chinese forward Yi Jianlian, Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr., North Carolina's Brandan Wright, Georgetown's Jeff Green and Washington's Spencer Hawes.

WAIT AND SEE

Beyond that, the Heat hopes a player will be available at No. 20 from a group that includes Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young, Southern Cal's Nick Young, Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey, Kansas' Julian Wright and Texas A&M's Acie Law IV.

''It's always interesting to see how things go the first hour or hour and a half because some of those things lead us down one road or another,'' Pfund said about draft night. ``The thing you'd like to happen is someone out of that first 15, 16, 17 drops down to you at 20.