Top-20 NBA Draft prospect Nolan Traore, a teenage point guard out of France, told ESPN that he’ll be putting his name in the available talent pool. Traore is expected to hear his name called on June 25, the first night of the two-day event.
Whether he’s on the Miami Heat’s radar as a potential pick or not, this news is a fantastic development. In a draft already being lauded by experts as one of the deepest in recent memory, the Heat won’t have a lottery pick after reaching the playoffs as the No. 10 seed.
Oklahoma City will instead draft in Miami’s place since the selection it was owed was lottery-protected. Coin flips worked against the Heat to drop them to 20th as the trade acquired in the Jimmy Butler deal fell from potentially being as high as No. 18, so the Heat now needs as much talent as possible to be available so that they can still land an excellent player.
Traore’s decision aids that cause since he’ll bump someone into Miami’s lap that would’ve otherwise been taken or be available when the 20th selection rolls around.
A potential lottery pick, Traore broke Houston Rockets’ center Alperen Sengun’s scoring record for a player under the age of 21 in a Champions League game this past October and has great positional size. Traore has been playing in France’s professional first division with Saint-Quentin BB, sharing a backcourt with former NBA lottery pick Jerome Robinson.
The Heat had to be ready for multiple scenarios given how the season unfolded, so now that they know exactly where they’ll be selecting barring a trade, expect them to zero in on potential fits.
At 20, you take the best available player, and considering how Miami develops its young guys, count on extensive digging into the work ethic of potential draft picks.
ESPN’s 20th-ranked prospect is Arizona combo forward Carter Bryant, one of college basketball’s best athletes as a freshman. He has yet to declare, but like Traore, would add to this class’ depth if and when he does. The Ringer’s current 20th NBA prospect is another international, Israel’s Ben Saraf, a 19-year-old combo guard for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga.
Other players who could potentially be available when Miami’s pick rolls around include Illinois wing Will Riley, Georgia forward Asa Newell and Georgetown center Thomas Sorber, all of whom would be one-and-dones. Older prospects include Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr., Michigan forward Danny Wolf, and Colorado State guard Nique Clifford.
Tony Mejia is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at tnyce1414@gmail.com
