Part 2 in a series: How the Heat landed skilled shooters Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson
Part 2 of a 3-part series
For a team to jump from mediocre to a top-six record in the league, as the Miami Heat has done in 2019, you need a serendipitous concoction of smart decisions and good fortune.
The Heat has made savvy choices with the acquisition of two skilled shooters — Tyler Herro in the draft this past June and Duncan Robinson after the 2018 draft.
Some background on the addition of both, in part 2 of a 3-part series examining how Miami landed five key young pieces (Kendrick Nunn, Herro, Robinson, Bam Adebayo and Chris Silva):
THE BACKGROUND ON THE HERRO SELECTION
Herro has been arguably the best player selected 13th or later in June’s draft, and we’re told that when Miami picked him, there was unanimity in the room.
Had he been off the board, a discussion would have been needed among available players, because there wasn’t a clear-cut second choice among the likes of Romeo Langford, Sekou Dimbouya, Nikael-Alexander Walker, Goga Bitadze, Matisse Thybulle, Grant Williams, Brandon Clarke and Nassir Little.
We’re told Miami never strongly considered intriguing Southern California swingman Kevin Porter at 13; he went 30th to Cleveland. And even if Kentucky power forward PJ Washington hadn’t gone 12th to Charlotte, Miami still would have taken Herro 13th.
Heat president Pat Riley is big on a player’s length, and Herro doesn’t have super long arms, so that was one negative that we’re told Herro had to overcome here.
But Riley and the Heat’s scouting staff liked everything else about him, including elite shooting skills, his ability to do other things offensively, his competitiveness and work ethic and an overwhelmingly positive recommendation from Kentucky coach John Calipari, who didn’t ever really want to take him off the court. They were told he was a gym rat, which Heat officials love.
By the night before the draft, the Heat had decided Herro would be the pick unless one of the very top players in the draft shockingly slipped. The Herro pick was widely advocated among all of the Heat’s decision makers, which isn’t always the case.
“Plus we needed shooting,” as one Heat official said. “It was not a hard decision; he was our guy. We felt he had not only the stroke, but a lot of intangibles that were really unique.”
There was initial concern about defenders crowding him on his shot, but that hasn’t proved to be an obstacle.
They knew there would be a learning curve defensively, and though he works diligently on that area of his game, improvement is needed. Players defended by Herro are shooting 46.6 percent from the field, compared with the 41.8 they shoot overall.
But his efficiency has been impressive for a rookie. He’s shooting 40.4 percent on threes, which is 43rd in the league and third among rookies, behind only Toronto’s Terence Davis and Charlotte’s Washington.
He’s second among all rookie shooting guards in scoring, at 14.4 per game, behind only teammate Kendrick Nunn, who stands at 16.1.
THE BACKGROUND ON ROBINSON SIGNING
The Heat scouted Robinson at Michigan and was intrigued by a player who shot 41.9 percent on three-pointers in three years in Ann Arbor.
But the Heat’s interest piqued before the draft, after — according to Robinson — Heat executive Chet Kammerer watched him in a private workout in a Los Angeles gym.
“It was my first pre-draft workout, and one of my better ones,” Robinson said. “I made a lot of shots. Chet always reminds me I didn’t miss two in a row the entire workout.
“It wasn’t like I was catching and shooting, stand still shots. He had me up and down, doing conditioning in the workout. That’s something Chet likes to see. I was really getting pushed. There were defensive segments in the workout. I needed to prove myself.”
Robinson said he had a “handful” of offers after the draft, but ultimately chose Miami over his next choices - the Lakers and Bucks - in part because of Erik Spoelstra’s call to him the night before the draft.
“The fact he reached out meant a lot to me,” Robinson said. “He told me about their culture and what they’re all about and how much they prioritize shooting, and guys that come here that are shooters tend to have their best years. He mentioned Wayne Ellington and some other guys.
It just excited me. I was pretty adamant I wanted to be part of this place, at least do summer league with them and see where the chips fell.”
He also liked that Miami didn’t have a draft pick in 2018 “and I thought I would have a real opportunity in summer league.”
Miami gave him a two-way deal during Summer League, then converted it to a standard contract late last season, giving him Bird Rights when he becomes a free agent in 2021. Regardless of how much Miami pays him in 2021, his cap charge would be only $2.1 million or $4.7 million (if he remains a starter for the most part over the next two seasons).
Robinson became a serious full-time rotation option only after he gained 15 pounds this offseason and significantly improved other aspects of his game beyond shooting. Last season, players defended by Robinson shot 47.3 percent. This season, it’s 44.1. He had 10 rebounds Sunday in Brooklyn.
Is the Most Improved Player award something he should be in the mix for?
“Considering a guy who didn’t play [has morphed into] someone starting who has become a respected weapon and being talked about on other scouting reports, that’s well earned,” Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s become much better [defensively], improved his technique.”
And offensively, “Duncan has matched [former Heat guard] Wayne Ellington in terms of how many hours he put in behind the scenes trying to develop that part of his game,” Spoelstra said. “The other benefit he has is the size; his release point is very high up there. He’s 6-8. His release point is probably up there 7-feet something. In many ways, he had a pro jump shot [coming into the NBA]. Chet noticed that early on. He didn’t necessarily know how to come off screens. He’s developed that.”
Coming Thursday: The background on how the Heat landed Adebayo and Silva.
Here’s part 1 of my series on how the Heat landed Kendrick Nunn.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 4:02 PM.
