Even though the Miami Heat have been a well-run organization since their first season in 1988-89, they have also made their fair share of mistakes via the NBA Draft and by way of trade.
Since their inaugural season in 1988-89, the Miami Heat have been known as one of the most well-run NBA franchises in the league. I know this is semi-ironic after losing out on Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, and other stars over the last few seasons, but despite that, they have won three NBA championships and been to two NBA Finals since 2020. While they have experienced some great success in their existence over the last 34 years, they are no different than the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, or any other team when it comes to their fair share of mistakes.
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The Miami Heat have been lucky to have some of the greatest basketball minds in NBA history lead their franchise. Pat Riley has served as the Team President since 1995 and also had 13 seasons in which he coached the team as well. Erik Spoelstra is also one of the better head coaches there has been in the NBA over the last 30 years, and he has been at the helm since 2011. The list below goes to show you that even the best basketball minds can also make mistakes that are deemed critical to the failure or success of the team.
In other words, no franchise is safe from our judgment. These are the worst draft and trade mistakes in Miami Heat history.
The Worst Draft Mistakes In Miami Heat History1992 NBA Draft
Credit: Fadeaway World
Miami Heat Selected: Harold Miner, 12th Overall Pick
Better Available Pick: Latrell Sprewell (24th Overall Pick)
It took a few seasons for the Heat to make their first mistake in the NBA Draft, but it would finally occur in 1992. The Heat decided to go with Harold Miner who was referred to as “Baby Jordan” coming out of college thanks to his scoring prowess and incredible athleticism. Unfortunately for Miami, Miner failed to live up to the hype. He would play just three seasons in Miami while averaging 9.6 points per game on 46.0% shooting. Miner never earned a consistent starting role and would be traded to the Cavaliers for a second-round pick in 1995. Miner would retire following the 1995-96 season.
To be fair, there were a total of 23 teams to miss out on Latrell Sprewell’s services in the 1992 NBA Draft. Sprewell would go on to enjoy a steady NBA career in which he became an All-Star four times as well as an All-NBA Team selection once in 1994. Despite some of his shortcomings such as choking his coach in Golden State or his up-and-down time with the Knicks, Sprewell would become one of the highest-paid small forwards in the game during the early 2000s. Sprewell could have been a much more impactful player in Miami than Miner, but the Heat recovered from this, to say the least.
1994 NBA Draft
Credit: Fadeaway World
Miami Heat Selected: Khalid Reeves, 12th Overall Pick
Better Available Pick: Jalen Rose (13th Overall Pick)
Two years following the Harold Miner debacle, the Heat would hold the 12th overall pick in the NBA Draft again. This time, they decided to go the way of the point guard with Khalid Reeves, a standout from the University of Arizona. Reeves would enjoy a solid rookie season with Miami averaging 9.2 points and 4.3 assists per game in 67 appearances. At the end of the season, Reeves would be included in the deal with the Hornets that brought Alonzo Mourning to South Beach. He would go on to play five more seasons with five more teams and retire in 2000 at the age of 27.
Just one selection later, Jalen Rose was taken by the Denver Nuggets. Rose was more than a solid guard/forward in the NBA over the course of 13 seasons with the Nuggets, Pacers, Bulls, Raptors, Knicks, and Suns. Rose recorded numerous seasons with at least 20.0 points per game and was named the 2000 Most Improved Player while with Indiana.
In the early 2000s with the Bulls, Rose had some seasons leading the team in scoring with over 22.0 points per game on just over 47.0% shooting. Rose was never an All-Star or All-NBA Team selection in his career but there is no doubt he could have been a better selection for the Heat.
2004 NBA Draft
Credit: Fadeaway World
Miami Heat Selected: Dorell Wright, 19th Overall Pick
Better Available Pick: Tony Allen (25th Overall Pick)
It would be another 10 years until the Heat made a selection that could be deemed a mistake. With their 19th overall pick in 2004, Miami decided on small forward Dorell Wright out of high school. Wright would play six seasons in Miami averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. After leaving the Heat, Wright would sign with the Warriors where he averaged 13.8 points per game over two seasons.
Despite the resurgence of his career, Wright would play just three more seasons with the Sixers and Trail Blazers before retiring in 2015. Little did the Heat know that still available to them on the draft board was one of the best perimeter defenders of the 2010s. Tony Allen would go 25th overall to the Celtics where he helped them win an NBA championship in 2008 off the bench.
After seven seasons in Boston, Allen would go on to become the greatest shooting guard in the Memphis Grizzlies thanks to his defensive play. In seven seasons with Memphis, Allen would earn all six of the All-Defensive Team selections he made in his career. Allen would average 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game in seven years with the Grizzlies.
2008 NBA Draft
Credit: Fadeaway World
Miami Heat Selected: Michael Beasley, 2nd Overall Pick
Better Available Picks: Russell Westbrook (4th Overall Pick), Kevin Love (5th Overall Pick)
The 2008 NBA Draft featured a ton of talent at the top of the draft with the Miami Heat holding the second overall pick. With that selection, they decided on supremely talented forward Michael Beasley who was coming off a National Player of the Year year at Kansas State. In his first two years with the Heat, Beasley averaged 14.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Not exactly the production you want to see from a second-overall pick.
After two seasons, Beasley would be traded to Minnesota but return to the Heat in 2014 for two more seasons. As we know now, mental health issues and marijuana suspensions would derail his career, and he would spend the final four seasons of his career with four different teams. Looming just behind Beasley were potentially two franchise players who could have thrived next to Dwyane Wade upon arrival.
Russell Westbrook would go fourth overall to the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder. By 2012, Westbrook had helped the Thunder reach the NBA Finals. Westbrook would go on to win the 2017 MVP award as well as nine All-Star selections, two scoring titles, and the all-time NBA record for triple-doubles.
Also sitting there available for the taking was Kevin Love who would go to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Love would be a double-double machine for the Timberwolves averaging 19.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game in six seasons in Minnesota. Love would then go on to play for the Cavaliers with LeBron James where he helped them make four straight NBA Finals from 2015 through 2018 and win an NBA title in 2016. In nine years with the Cavaliers, Love would be a two-time All-Star averaging 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
2015 NBA Draft
Credit: Fadeaway World
Miami Heat Selected: Justise Winslow, 10th Overall Pick
Better Available Pick: Devin Booker (13th Overall Pick)
The final devastating mistake in the history of the Miami Heat’s draft picks would come during the 2015 NBA Draft. The Heat held the 10th overall pick and decided on forward Justise Winslow out of Duke University. Winslow would show flashes of stardom in Miami but never lived up to the hype of being a 10th overall pick. In five seasons with Miami, Winslow would average 9.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on 41.7% shooting from the field. In 2022-23, Winslow is still in the NBA but played just 29 games with Portland due to injury.
Just three picks after Winslow, the Phoenix Suns would draft their future franchise player when they got Devin Booker out of Kentucky. All Booker has done over the last eight seasons is help the Suns go from a laughing stock to a perennial contender which included a Finals berth in 2021. Booker has transformed into the best shooting guard in the NBA and one of its best scorers as well, averaging more than 25.0 points per game each season since 2019. Booker and the Suns are preparing for another possible NBA Finals run in 2023-24 as the Suns boast the best trio in the NBA with him, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal.
Credit: Fadeaway World
Miami Heat Receive: Kevin Willis, 1996 First-Round Draft Pick
Atlanta Hawks Receive: Steve Smith, Grant Long, 1996 Second-Round Draft Pick
In 1991, the Miami Heat made Steve Smith their fifth overall draft selection. It turned out to be one of the better picks they made in team history. In three and a half seasons in Miami, Smith would average 15.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 44.6% shooting. Just as Smith was hitting his stride, the Heat moved him during the 1994 season for an aging Kevin Willis. Willis would be decent in 1994 with Miami averaging 17.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in 65 games with Atlanta.
Just one year later, the Heat would use Willis in a deal that landed them Tim Hardaway from the Golden State Warriors. As for Smith, he wound up becoming an All-Star with the Hawks, averaging 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game over five seasons with the team. Smith would play six more seasons in the NBA with the Spurs, Trail Blazers, Hornets, and Heat again before retiring in 2005 at 35 years old.
2008 Trade Between The Miami Heat And Phoenix Suns
Miami Heat Receive: Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks
Phoenix Suns Receive: Shaquille O’Neal
In 2004, the Miami Heat made a huge splash when they acquired Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the best deals they made in team history. Just four years later, they would trade the aging superstar despite the contributions he made to the team. In 2005, O’Neal would be MVP runner-up for the Heat averaging 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. The following season, Shaq would help Miami win their first NBA championship in franchise history.
At first glance, the deal to get rid of O’Neal looked like a good return for Miami. Shawn Marion is one of the most versatile two-way forwards in NBA history. However, Marion would play just 58 total games for the Heat before he was flipped to Toronto for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon.
Marion would go on to join the Dallas Mavericks in 2009-10 before playing a major role in their NBA championship run in 2011. While the Heat basically got two aging veterans with little impact in exchange for O’Neal, they would later rally by acquiring both LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010. This duo, along with Dwyane Wade, would help the Heat make four straight trips to the NBA Finals from 2011 through 2014 and become back-to-back NBA champions in 2012 and 2013.
