Welcome to NBA Draft day!
The Miami Heat enters the first round of the two-round NBA Draft on Wednesday (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. on Wednesday.
The second round of the draft will take place on Thursday (8 ET, ESPN) 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.
10:30 update: The Heat selected Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakucionis, who had been widely projected as a late lottery pick. He averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and shot 44 percent from the field in his one season at Illinois. He’s considered a deft passer and excellent ball-handler. But he also averaged 3.7 turnovers per game and shot 31.8 on threes (54 for 170).
9:55 p.m.: While the Heat has the 20th overall pick that it acquired from the Golden State Warriors in the February Jimmy Butler trade, the Heat’s own pick at No. 15 on Wednesday was used by the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder to take Georgetown big Thomas Sorber.
The Thunder received the Heat’s No. 15 pick this year because Miami owed a 2025 lottery-protected first-round selection to Oklahoma City — a pick first sent out by the Heat in the 2019 trade to acquire Butler.
7:15 p.m.: While the focus is currently on the first round of the draft, the second round will come fast on Thursday (8 ET, ESPN).
The Heat does not currently hold a pick in the second round of this year’s draft. There remains the possibility of the Heat buying or trading for a second-round selection, but the fact that any team that purchases a second-round pick becomes hard-capped at the second apron for the entirety of the upcoming season will likely create some pause for Miami.
4:30 p.m.: The Lakers and Heat have discussed a trade involving Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, according to Lakers Lounge podcast host Anthony Irwin.
Irwin said the deal likely would involve Lakers players with expiring contracts -- Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and either Maxi Kleber or former Heat guard Gabe Vincent. Miami has asked for the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2030 or 2032, Irwin said. Any of those permutations would work within rules of the salary cap.
The Heat is very open to trading Wiggins, according to a source. Removing his $30 million player option for 2026-27 from Miami’s books, and replacing it with expiring contracts, would give Miami $45 million in cap space in the summer of 2026, with the ability to create more.
Hachimura is due $18.2 million next season. The Heat would need to absorb additional salaries (Vincent or Kleiber) in that hypothetical transaction, with Wiggins due to make $28.2 million next season. Hachimura averaged 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 59 games and 57 starts last season.
Another hypothetical permutation that would make sense: Hachimura, Dalton Knecht and Shake Milton for Wiggins, with Miami then re-routing Knecht to Charlotte in returns for Miami’s 2027 or 2028 first-round pick that was sent to the Hornets in the Terry Rozier deal.
The Hornets thought they had traded for Knecht in February, but the Lakers rescinded the trade because of medical concerns involving center Mark Williams.
That aforementioned hypothetical would give Miami control of all of its future first-round picks, after OKC picks in Miami’s slot at No. 15 on Wednesday. After the draft concludes Thursday, the Heat would have four tradable first-round picks in that scenario.
3 p.m.: Here’s who the latest mock drafts have the Heat taking with the 20th overall pick ...
ESPN’s updated mock draft has the Heat taking UConn wing Liam McNeeley: “McNeeley has drawn positive feedback on the workout circuit, where he reminded teams of his all-around offensive ability coming off a tricky season that was hampered by an ankle injury. He has interest all over the back half of the first round, including the Nets, Heat, and Jazz in this range.”
The Ringer’s updated mock draft has the Heat drafting Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr.: “Bringing in someone who could give them a scoring and facilitating jolt on offense feels like the move. Clayton attempted more 3s with a live dribble this past season than he did playing off the catch, but he did both really well. It wouldn’t shock me if he helped them right out of the gate.”
The Athletic’s updated mock draft also has the Heat selecting Clayton: “A few sources have mentioned that Clayton has been hard to get in for a workout recently and may have a situation that he feels comfortable with. This would make a ton of sense. The three names I’ve heard most associated with Miami to this stage are [Asa] Newell, Liam McNeeley and Clayton.”
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 Wednesday’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.