Heat executive on unique challenges of a COVID draft. And team auditions point guard
The process leading up to Wednesday’s NBA Draft amid the COVID-19 pandemic has been unique for everybody involved.
Prospects are working out and interviewing for teams via Zoom, and teams are trying to evaluate players during these virtual workouts and interviews. In-person visits with prospects are also allowed, but all players, trainers, team personnel and physicians involved must return a negative COVID-19 test prior to the workout or meeting.
Then there’s also the fact that most of the draft prospects have not played in a game since March when the college basketball season was canceled because of the pandemic.
“I think it’s different. There’s no doubt about it. That’s evident,” Miami Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon said during a Zoom session with reporters Friday afternoon. “I think we did our homework. We were prepared. We missed a couple of events. We missed scouting toward the end of the season.
“You always like to see how players perform in tournaments, and conference tournaments. You missed a couple of the pre-draft camps. Certainly those are events where you can look at a lot of players and really zero in on their games. And workouts, agent-run workouts, in-house workouts. Yeah, so certainly missing out on that is challenging.”
How has the Heat, which owns the 20th pick in the first round of this year’s draft, tried to make up for those challenges? Miami’s staff has relied on a lot of film, and conversations with draft prospects and those who know those prospects best.
“Everyone has the same challenge,” Simon said. “So we’re all playing with the same deck and we’re all trying to figure out who the right fits are. So I think our lists haven’t changed too much.
“I’m sure that’s the same way across the board for all 30 teams. We’re making the best of it. We’ve watched a lot of film. We’ve talked to a lot of people. So whatever the challenges are there — yes, it’s different but it’s the same for everybody.”
NBA teams are permitted to schedule 10 visits of up to 4.5 hours with draft-eligible players for in-person evaluations, interviews or medical evaluation. Simon declined to disclose whether the Heat has used all 10 of those visits yet, but five of the Heat’s 10 workouts have been confirmed though league sources or the prospects themselves: North Carolina guard Cole Anthony, Vanderbilt wing player Aaron Nesmith and power rotation players Precious Achiuwa (Memphis), Vernon Carey Jr. (Duke) and Zeke Nnaji (Arizona).
“When we have players that we bring here, we control the workouts and they’re in the hands of our coaching staff,” Simon said. “We can put them through all the drills that we want. With going to the workouts, it clearly was a different process. ... Then they’re controlling the workout, we’re not involved with it.
“But we did send instruction to what we would like to see. Some of the drills, some of the running and jumping and shooting that we were hoping to look at and movements. Some agents were receptive to it and others stuck with their program and what they wanted to do. So I think they were all a little different. But for us, we got another look at players up close, which was useful. It’s not perfect, but again it was something.”
With the Heat holding the 20th pick, Simon said he believes this year’s draft class is deep and added “I think we can find a good player.”
Simon noted that one positive byproduct of the delayed draft is some prospects used that time to improve their bodies. For example, Carey’s weight has dropped from 260 to 237 since the college season ended.
“The players that were active took advantage of it and worked on their bodies and their game and some of them didn’t,” Simon said. “But most of them did.”
But another byproduct of the long layoff for most of the prospects is a quick turnaround to their rookie seasons. With no summer league this year, rookies will begin training camp with their new teams about two weeks after the draft Dec. 1 with opening night of the 2020-21 NBA season set for Dec. 22.
“We expressed to all of them that they need to be ready. ... Don’t come in out of shape and be ready to go,” Simon said. “I think it depends on the player. I think some players’ games are more mature, more ready to go. Some players certainly are going to have to go and play in the G League. That happens anyhow. It’s normal. But certainly this year might be more of an evaluation, observation of when they come into camp and we’ll have to see where they are. If they’re not ready, then certainly we’ll be able to send them to Sioux Falls to get them up to speed.”
COLE ANTHONY CONFIRMS HEAT WORKOUT
Anthony is the latest draft prospect to confirm he has worked out privately for the Heat.
Anthony, who confirmed his Heat workout in an NBA-arranged Zoom session with reporters on Friday, averaged 18.5 points in his one season at North Carolina but shot 38.0 percent from the field and 34.8 percent on threes. He also averaged 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists but also 3.5 turnovers per game.
“He had a horrible year. Probably couldn’t have had a worse year, and he still put up 19 [points per game], 6 [rebounds] and 4 [assists],” his father Greg Anthony, the TNT analyst and former NBA guard, told the New York Daily News. “He didn’t shoot it well, but he didn’t have the opportunities he would’ve liked. He learned a lot, had a great experience there, and where he ends up — I know how he’s wired, he’s going to be a great player. So I’m not really concerned.”
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Anthony going 19th to the Nets — one spot before the Heat selects — and called him “an interesting buy-low candidate with proven scoring credentials and competitiveness.” Anthony originally was projected to go in the top five when the season started, but his stock dropped, Givony said.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 4:46 PM.
