The Miami Heat are preparing for all options with the No. 13 pick. Heat Vice President of Basketball Operations of Adam Simon explains that he believes it’ll be a strong draft while also mentioning that trades and free agency could be the path to get to the next chapter.
- “I think the overall quality of players coming out is higher than it’s ever been,” Simon tell Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “Players are more prepared coming into high school now and into college. You’re always finding players a little bit more prepared than they were the year before. But I think overall, it’s going to be a strong draft class.”
Miami entered last training camp with six of it’s first round picks on the roster, which ties the record for most in franchise history (via Chiang).
- “There are years when we have been more of a veteran team and that makes us have less draft picks. And this is a time in Heat history where we happen to have a bunch of first-rounders on our roster. So of course, we take pride in it. But we also know that we are going to continue to build the team. Whether that’s through the draft or through trades or free agency, we need to get to that next chapter of team building, and hopefully we’ll keep adding players,” Simons continued.
The Heat have been heavily linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo and as we previously relayed, rival teams are operating as if the Bucks will have multiple picks in the first round. Shams Charania recently went on ESPN and carefully explained that while Giannis isn’t requesting a trade, he does believe a new team is best for his career.
Giannis isn’t the only trade option, however, as our own Chris Crouse recently predicted that Kawhi Leonard would be the target for the Heat this summer while giving a rundown of what happened at the Kaseya Center after Pat Riley‘s press conference.
ICYMI: My Full (6-Minute) Press Conference
Post Pat Riley’s (67-Minute)
2026 Press Conference• Pat Riley still has it.
• Terry/Gambling reaction
• Heat won’t tank, won’t trade Bam
• Herro gone? Ware gone?
• Kawhi Leonard Prediction (didn’t specify when) pic.twitter.com/HSgcpVojKG— Chris Crouse (@ChrisCSports) April 30, 2026
More Giannis
- Miami-native Chad (Ocho Cinco) Johnson hears that Giannis is already looking for houses in Miami. Take that rumors however you’d like but we don’t necessarily see it as credible in terms of connecting Giannis to a Heat trade, given that players and former players are rarely in lockstep with front offices and that the former MVP could simply be searching for an additional house for the offseason.
More NBA Buzz
- LeBron James is likely to play next season. The rumors surrounding where are vast, though there were reports that he believed the Lakers were pushing him out and Rich Paul chose to say “nothing” when asked about LBJ joining the Heat again. Find the latest on LeBron on our dedicated page for James’ 26/27 decision, which is updated daily.
- Cameron Boozer is strongly in contention for the No. 2 pick. Our intel on that drew some Twitter backlash and sparked some conversation.
Cameron Boozer is reportedly strongly in the mix to be the No. 2 pick, per @FortyEightMins pic.twitter.com/pWrzJAX5uH
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 20, 2026
https://x.com/davidjsmith1232/status/2057184117536801119
Yes tooootally moved by a report from a site that doesn’t associate a name or face to its intel.
(Again, if Wizards/Jazz take Boozer, just take whoever’s left between Peterson or AJ!) https://t.co/Y0eoOAyxVH pic.twitter.com/nHo9lgBuqJ
— Parker Fleming (@PAKA_FLOCKA) May 20, 2026
https://x.com/CCN_72/status/2057242024898597069
https://x.com/ArtTakesNote/status/2057480648944914568
