The Miami Heat has the No. 13 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Who are the best options to bring the franchise back to being playoff bound?
After Dwyane Wade‘s #LASTDANCETOUR last season, his departure closes a very good chapter in the Heat’s franchise. The 2019 NBA Draft is the start of a new chapter. What player should the Miami Heat take with the 13th pick to begin the franchise’s new era? Below I’ll have three very good options on who the team should take to jump-start their rebuild.
Option One: Romeo Langford
Langford, the 7th ranked prospect coming out of high-school (According to 24/7 sports) had very high expectations for his freshman season at Indiana. He put up 16.5 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assist, and nearly a block and a steal a game with both averaging out to 0.8 a game. Pretty solid season right? It would be considered that for most college freshman, but not for Romeo. Langford shot just .448% from the field, and shot an awful .272% from 3 last season, making the inevitable one and done’s stock drop way down. Good thing for Miami.
The 6’6 215 pound two guard is oozing with potential, and if he can fully tap into it, can impact a game in many ways.
Langford is one of the most athletic players in the draft, and uses that athleticism and his 6’11 wingspan to beat slower guards off the dribble, and smaller guards with his strength to get to the paint and score inside. His ability to get to the rim easily also allows him to get to the free-throw line very well, as he shot 6.1 free-throws a game last season. His free-throw percentage? .722% proving his shooting stroke isn’t broke, and that his treacherous 27% from 3 (he shot 36% from 3 his senior year) has more to do with the thumb injury he played through last season rather than his shot needing Ben Simmons type work.
Not only is he a scoring threat in isolation, but can score well in transition and can really hurt teams running the pick and roll according to a SBNation Crimson Quarry article by Jacob Rude:
"“There’s many areas that make Langford so dangerous in the pick and roll. He was an elite finisher at the rim, hitting 63.6 percent of his shots at the rim, putting him in the 87th percentile on the year.. he has an ability to weave through traffic and finish around and even through contact. In general on pick and rolls, Langford was in the 96th percentile on taking the ball to the basket at an absurd 1.45 PPP. He was at his most lethal in high pick and rolls, which was his most common pick and roll location. On 53 possessions off the high pick and roll, he finished in the 93rd percentile. He was in the 98th percentile in taking it to the basket off high pick and rolls He’s also an efficient mid-range shooter, something he showcased at times off the pick and roll. On medium range shots, considered between 17’ to the three-point line, Langford shot 51.6 percent on 31 attempts, ranking him in the 91st percentile.”"
Jacob also shows us how Langford is a more than willing, (Some would say underrated) passer. He states how a lack of overall help on his team diminished his assist numbers by saying:
"” In general, Langford was a willing passer out of pick and rolls, passing out of them 98 times on the year. The problem was Indiana’s rather putrid roster around him was unable to maximize those passes. On 53 passes to spot up shooters, Indiana shot just 33.3 percent and tallied only 48 points, for example.”"
Will Langford be a 8-10 assist a game type of guy? No, but if he continues to improve, he could reach Miami legend Dwyane Wade’s career 5.4 assists per game average, especially with NBA talent around him. Can you imagine a pick and roll with Langford and Bam Adebayo?
Langford can help this Heat team in three ways. Scoring, passing, and rebounding the ball.
Where can he improve?
Besides the shooting concerns that I have full confidence he will improve in, Langford needs to work on his decision-making. Langford at times gets caught trying to do too much, whether it’s trying to unnecessarily split a double team, putting his head down forcing his way to the basket out of control, which forces to either make bad passes and turn the ball over, or take very bad contested shots.
Langford also needs to improve on his ball handling ability. He did enough in college to create separation for some mid range jump shots, or to create space to score inside, but Langford rarely ever went left, and was at times loose with is handle. He can’t run the pick and roll in Erik Spoelstra’s offense if he can’t handle the ball better.
NBA Comparison: Demar Derozan
Here’s Derozan’s college stats: (Was also a one and done)
His 13.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assist’s per game on .167% from 3 show some similarities between him and Langford. Derozan’s 6’7 211 pound frame is similar to Langford’s along with his great rebounding ability at the college level. Langford, even with a hurt hand showed more promise than Derozan did on the offensive side of the ball coming out of college, and if Langford pans out could easily reach Derozan’s numbers of 21 points 6 rebounds and 6 assists he averaged last season.
Why should Miami take Langford? With wade retiring, Miami now needs to get them another young two guard to build around, and they should very much so consider Langford here at 13 and thank his thumb injury for allowing him to even make it this far to them.