Morant didn’t measure up for Heat at trade deadline, so would a small guard suffice at No. 13?
· Yahoo Sports
MIAMI — When it comes to sizing up the potential choices for the Heat’s No. 13 draft slot, the question could come down to measuring up.
It was back in February, at the trading deadline, when NBA sources familiar with the Heat approach downplayed the team’s interest in Ja Morant because of the lithe build the the Memphis Grizzlies guard.
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As in his listed 174-point frame perhaps not up to the defensive rigors required by a Heat approach that can include plenty of switching defense.
And yet when the top of this year’s draft is scoured, it is one loaded with backcourt talent, but also plenty of backcourt talent on the lithe side.
That includes prospects at or near the Heat’s range at No. 13 that include (with NBA.com listed weight) Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. (176), Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson (180), Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. (180), Houston guard Kingston Flemings (183) and Baylor guard Cameron Carr (184).
The only players on the Heat’s final 2025-26 roster who were listed at lower than the 210 pounds of Tyler Herro or Kasparas Jakucionis were seldom-used Jahmir Young (185) and mainstay Dru Smith (200).
To their credit, the Heat have bulked up numerous draft picks over the years, including a recent social-media post of the physical gains made since Jakucionis was drafted in last year’s first round out of Illinois.
Which brings it back to – if the Heat retain their No. 13 pick in the June 23 first round – of whether size matters now as it did when the Heat deliberated Morant in February (perhaps to deliberate him again).
“I always remind our scouts,” Heat Assistant General Manager Adam Simon said, “we always talk about we have our principles of what we like, what we look for. There’s things that we always try to like. Who doesn’t like length? Who doesn’t like athleticism? Who doesn’t like positional size?
“But, as you know, there’s heart and there’s IQ and there’s ability to outplay deficiencies that you might have based on size. And if you look in the history of the game, if you basically overlook something based on one aspect of the evaluation, that player can outplay it.”
That, Simon said, brings it back to scouting the positives.
“There are players that aren’t athletic that make it,” he said. “There’s players that are in that size range that become Hall of Famers.”
With now, Jalen Brunson, at 6-2, 190, leading the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, who have benefited by the 185-pound presence of De’Aaron Fox.
“There’s great talent that comes in all shapes and sizes,” Simon continued. “You’re watching it right now, you know, in the playoffs.”
For years, Heat President Pat Riley has stressed size and length on the wing, which is why there continue to be question of any potential Heat interest in Morant. But when it comes to the draft, the best-player-available approach could lead the Heat to something on the smaller side.
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“Hopefully that your speed and your quickness and shooting can get to the size and their slowness or whatever it is before they can get to you,” Riley said of going in the direction of undersized talent. “And so that’s playing small.
“And that’s playing real small. And that’s like four guards and one great player and putting Bam (Adebayo) in the middle. And that’s the way this league is today.”
Considering the emphasis the Heat placed on their league-leading pace this past season, small might yet find a way on draft night at 601 Biscayne . . . if it’s not replaced in a trade by the size and length of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“For the most part with this pace and space game,” Riley said, “you run it up in four or five seconds. You’re trying to get a shot in the first eight seconds of the shot clock.”
So a good thing in a small package at No. 13 for the Heat on draft night?
“I think,” Simon said, “you have to just keep an open mind that players that might not fit exactly what you’re looking for can be exceptions.”