Wrapped within Pat Riley’s end-of-season press conference were several comments about the importance of the NBA Draft, something that Riley’s Miami Heat haven’t historically prioritized. That, however, seems to be changing.
“The draft is important,” Riley said. “Younger players on rookie-scale contracts that can play.”
Throughout his 35-minute media session, Riley remarked about the league’s new CBA that prohibits the higher payroll teams from using key roster-building tools such as the mid-level exception, picking up buy-out players and aggregating salaries in trades. These restrictions make the draft the best resource to add cheap talent.
When asked what the Heat could be looking for on draft night, Riley said “Wing size and length and multiple position players, especially ball-handling players.