Welcome to NBA Draft day!
The Miami Heat enters the first round of the two-round NBA Draft today (8 p.m., ABC and ESPN) with the 20th overall pick (acquired from the Golden State Warriors in the February Jimmy Butler trade), with that selection expected to come between 9:40 p.m. and 10:10 p.m. today.
The second round of the draft will take place on Thursday (8 ET, ESPN). The Heat does not currently hold a pick in the second round of this year’s draft but there remains the possibility of the Heat buying or trading for a second-round selection (any team that purchases a second-round pick becomes hard-capped at the second apron for the entirety of that upcoming season because any team that sends out cash in a deal faces that limitation under the current CBA).
The NBA Draft is taking place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
It has already been a newsy time around the league, with significant trade happening in the days leading up to the draft. Just in the last week, the Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks, and the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards agreed to a deal that sent Jordan Poole to the Pelicans and CJ McCollum to the Wizards.
What will transpire tonight in the first round of the draft for the Heat? We’ll have live updates for you here.
1 p.m.: While trades have happened around the NBA in recent days, the last significant offseason trade the Heat made came when it acquired Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors in August 2021.
But the Heat has been active in the trade market this week in the wake of not landing 15-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant, according to league sources.
The Heat is believed to be exploring trades for veteran forward Andrew Wiggins, who was acquired by Miami in February as part of the Jimmy Butler deal. Wiggins has two seasons left on his contract, as he’s due $28.2 million this upcoming season and has a $30.2 million player option in the 2026-27 season.
Wiggins, 30, missed 15 of the 32 regular-season games he was available for with the Heat due to injury or illness following the trade to Miami last season and then averaged just 11.5 points per game on 16-of-43 (37.2%) shooting from the field in the Heat’s first-round playoff series.
Dealing Wiggins for an expiring contract or a player with a cheaper 2026-27 salary would help get the Heat closer to having max-level cap space in the 2026 offseason.
Guard Terry Rozier is another Heat player who could be included in a trade. Rozier is entering the final season of his current contract, as he’s due $26.6 million this upcoming season before becoming a free agent next offseason.
The Heat could also put the 20th pick in today’s first round in a trade. One reason the Heat could choose to deal this year’s pick is to free up additional tradeable future first-round selections, according to a league source.
It’s also worth noting that The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported Wednesday that the Heat has “legitimate Johnathan Kuminga interest, per league sources, among others expected to explore the idea [of a sign-and-trade] as the market materializes.”
The Heat has some level of interest in Kuminga, but is currently exploring other potential moves, according to a league source.
Kuminga, 22, averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game last season in his fourth NBA season. Kuminga, who was selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 Draft, is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
If a team extends an offer sheet to Kuminga, the Warriors would have a few days to match it. Restricted free agents also can be acquired via a sign-and-trade.
According to ESPN front office insider and former Nets executive Bobby Marks, teams have 36 hours to decide whether to match if the offer sheet is sent by noon EST. If the offer sheet is received after noon EST, teams now have 60 hours to decide.