Miami Heat Could Find Playmaker of the Future in the NBA Draft

Miami Heat Could Find Playmaker of the Future in the NBA Draft

we’re continuing our draft evaluation series focusing on a glaring area of need for Miami and that’s playmaking we’ll break down some of the top passers in the draft and they come in all shapes and sizes on today’s episode of Locked on [Music] Heat you are Locked on Heat your daily Miami Heat podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day all right welcome to Locked on Heat your daily podcast on the Miami Heat whether you’re tuning in on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app thanks for making Locked on Heat your first listen every day i’m Wes Goldberg here with David Rmill both of us are credentialed Heat Media members who cover this team every day for daily content on the heat click that subscribe button on YouTube and make sure you are following us on your podcast app today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money take control of your finances with Monarch Money use the code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year really excited about today’s show it is another installment of our Blue Notebook series scouting prospects for the NBA draft today we are looking at some playmaking prospects who can help Miami’s offense who could be available at 20 later this month so we’re going to talk about Danny Wolf Nolan Trayori Ben Sarif and Hugo Gonzalez so four prospects in total we’ll get into their pros their cons some player comps uh and at the end we’re going to tell you who we like the most for the Heat but uh David you mentioned it in the tease to open up the show there but this is a glaring need for Miami this is not a team that has a lot of highmaking uh highlevel playmakers passers and it feels like this could be a direction that they go with 20 oh absolutely i I just when you’re looking at a way to jump start offense you know if you can’t get the requisite scoring and you probably won’t find it at 20 at the very least you can find somebody who’s a gifted passer somebody who can at least has the court vision to see how plays break down and maybe create better looks for their teammates and easier looks because that’s the whole thing we we’ve seen this time and time again with this iteration of the Heat even with Jimmy Butler on this roster it was just a matter of not being able to find easy looks it was milking the shot clock until the last second trying to force something at the very last second not getting the kind of easier looks at the rim or from three that you need to generate the kind of high volume scoring that makes a team successful in today’s NBA and so that’s why it always felt like offense was such a struggle we’ve heard this you know Eric Sper talking about the team’s offense being in the mud games being in the mud well I’d like to clean them up a little bit and maybe we can get a playmaker who could actually do that done with being in the mud no more mud just no more mud like a nice sidewalk something meant for for traversing and for walking and for uh being a good offense i It’s a problem let’s get a segue you know one of those segways how about that yes um it’s a problem when your number one passer for a season tyler Hero you could argue was sort of their number one playmaker last year uh is a guy who when he was in college I remember John Calipari talking to me on the phone for a story I was working on telling me that he would tell Taliro not to pass the ball in college because he was such a bad passer and more negative things happened when he passed the ball than when he didn’t and now that guy is your number one passer the guys we’re going to talk about on today’s episode these are guys who are being asked to be passers but they also can do a lot of other things in some instances and in some instances not not really uh but um let’s start with Nolan Trayori 19-year-old French point guard uh 6’3 6’8 wingspan 175 lbs i did the homework on him and um well I’ll start with the stats because I think they’re pretty interesting he he averaged 11.6 points per game last year in the French National League uh on 39% shooting overall 30% from three-point range 71% from the free throw line 5.1 assists to 2.5 turnovers that’s a pretty good assist to turnover ratio it’s nothing crazy um this is somebody who had lottery buzz going into the season um you go back to basically the preseason people were talking about him as a potential top 10 pick he’s starting he he’s he he’s fallen on a lot of boards and it’s mostly because of those shooting percentages i mean 30 under 40% shooting overall is bad and that’s where he was for two straight years um the athletic gifts though jump off the screen it’s crazy his his first step is as fast as I’ve seen at somebody his size at this level at this stage of his career lightning quick first step elite elite elite first step and he gets to it every time he routinely splits double teams turns the corner against the defense gets two feet into the paint and he does it easily and that’s the thing that maybe more than anything is the main takeaway from the Nolan Trayori scouting report and you’ll hear it no matter who you listen to what you read or just watch the film yourself and it it jumps off the screen um when he does get into the paint when he gets that deep paint uh penetration I like his touch despite the shooting i like the touch i think it’s there he’s a below the rim finisher i think he’s got good touch he’s got a little bit of a runner i think there’s floater potential there i think he’s going to be able to get to a bunch of stuff once he gets into the paint uh he’s a good passer when we get to the playmaking stuff good passer makes simple reads nothing overly crazy but makes that simple read consistently delivers an accurate pass and that was really the part that jumped off to me too is the the ball location on his pass was always pretty much spot-on he never had his uh receivers basically you know outstretched hands trying to gather the pass or these things these crazy wild passes flying out of bounds pretty good he he just he throws a good ball um he can hit the skip pass his height gives him a chance to kind of make those tougher ones across the court or get under the rim and make that sidearm throw to the up to the opposite corner he’s he can do all of that stuff he doesn’t do it a ton but he can do it um and what I really liked about him too is because he’s got that first step and he demands so much attention on the on the perimeter at that point of attack he does a good job of using that attention to draw the defense in a different direction and get his teammates open and so a lot of these passes that look really simple because they are well they’re simple because he’s attracted a double team and he’s just got an open teammate that just okay boom one pass away let’s go so he does a good job of that there’s things I don’t love about Nolan Trey i’m going to be clear but Raphael Barlo who has him at 14 on his big board over on the NBA big draft big board he’s got him as 14 he’s the highest ranked prospect that we’re going to talk about today according to Barlo he thinks he could be the steel of the draft and this guy does a way more work on these guys than you and I do so I’m not as high on him but I like that Raphael Barlo is on them is high on him so that’s what I like about him any concerns or from you or from refereel regarding the level of competition or anything like that maybe that may be overstated in terms it’s actually one of the things that he likes about him um it’s a pretty high level competition where he is in France it’s not like it’s not m it’s not u you know it’s not the highest league level league but it’s not a bad one is he a decent enough defender you think that can it won’t be an issue at the NBA level well let’s just get into the cons because that’s one of them he’s a non-factor defensively this is though where I think this is where the league plays a part just because it is an offensive driven league sure and I wonder if he’s drafted into the right situation if he can be coaxed into giving more effort on that end right coaching right situation a place that really prioritizes such as Miami right he’s got a 6’8 wingspan and the athleticism is undeniable like this guy could be a disruptive defender i think this guy could be A+ defensively if he’s coached upright and he’s 19 years old so I think that’s definitely if I if I were Miami or another team I would look at him and say he’s not bad defensively he’s just there’s not a whole lot of effort on that end and he was their primary playmaker so maybe that’s part of it but we think maybe we can get a little bit more out of him on that end i think that would be how I would look at it um the swing the swing skill for him though is the jumper uh struggled as a shooter made just 28% of his jump shots overall 26% on pull-ups um on a pretty big sample size too like this is this was something that he was asked to do quite a bit and he did not make them at a high enough rate um the catch and shoot threes he made a pretty efficient clip 38% but the pull-up game is bad and if he’s going to be on the ball at the next level then I don’t know how often he’ll get into those catch and shoot stuff that that catch and shoot stuff as much and it’s not even that good of a look um so the shooting is a swing skill for him and when I talk about his athleticism I’m talking about uh like on the ground athleticism right like this guy is a sprinter not a leaper uh he’s a below the rim player does not dunk does not finish above the rim and even with the below the rim stuff even though it looks really pretty and I t I think he does have good touch the production wasn’t where it was um he actually struggled to finish around the rim at that French level and it’s going to be harder obviously when you get to the NBA level and you’re just playing bigger longer more athletic bigs and and guys crowding the paint so that could be a concern too like the shooting percentages are not good and that and that level of production you wish it would have been more given his usage you think there’s something wrong with the mechanics that maybe Rob Fer can uh fix or something like that or is it just a matter of it’s just it didn’t hit them at a high clip i don’t know i don’t know uh the the mechanics don’t look great they are not broken and it’s not like one of these wonky like Michael Krilliss Gilchrist shots like it’s not it’s nothing crazy like that it’s a little bit of a hitch i maybe you can clean it up i think that would be the the bet is that yeah maybe we can get this to clean up the catch and shoot looks at 38% that makes me feel a little bit better right it’s not a broken jumper um in terms of comps the guy that jumped the guy that jumped that came to mind was Scoot Henderson which you could say oh third pick in the draft a couple years ago that’s that’s pretty good but he’s struggled a lot in Portland because he’s not a super big guy he’s not an above the rim finisher and as awesome as that first step is and as impressive as he can look at times there’s not enough to round out his game like he doesn’t have a reliable outside shot and he’s a little and if he’s not on the ball he doesn’t have much utility on offense and then defensively we could talk about the potential there but until it comes together there’s nothing there and it’s going to take a lot of coaching on that end to get him to a point where he’s making an impact consistently at the NBA level so um like I I say Scoot Henderson kind of in a bad way even though I still kind of like Scoot Henderson but that’s sort of where I was maybe if he hits his peak it’s maybe like Deonte Murray with a better first step it’s a pretty good player it is yeah so um the physical profile is a lot it’s like it’s like the Jonte Murray who plays like Scoot Henderson right now and it’s it’s a little it’s a little disconnected for me so if I’m being honest I’m not super high on him if we do the Buster Mus scale I’ve got him 40% fringe 40% roll rotation player and then I’ve got like I and I only go this high because of Raphael Barlo 19% all-star that might be too high i just Yeah there there’s a high like there’s a high degree of pop variability with him where he could just it could just click it could just work and then boom and you’re all and then and then he’s Dejante Murray with a better first step and like yep that’s an all-star caliber player right there i also got 1% all NBA because I felt like I had to put something in there because if it all clicks like we’re talking about one out of 100 chances you know what I mean like that’s not high so um I I’m I’m not super high on this guy but I would love to be wrong because he’s he’s really fun to watch fair enough um all right so that was the homework I did david you did the homework on Danny Wolf out of Michigan we’re going to talk about him next could the Heat take the next Josh McRoberts in the draft don’t get too excited people we’ll talk about that next today’s episode is brought to you by Dash Pass nba fans you know what time it is well that’s right it’s playoff season and that means big performances and even bigger rewards door Dash is bringing the heat with a slam dunk deal to Dash Pass members during the 2025 NBA Finals it’s called They Swoosh You Score and anytime a player drops 50 or more points in a playoff game dash Pass members score a free threepiece crispy tender combo from Wingstop the very next day just place an order of $20 or more and use the code Wingstop50 at checkout and that combo is yours crispy delicious and totally free and the offer is valid noon to midnight the day after the game you ever looked at your delivery fees and thought “Well you know what there’s got to be a better way.” Well with Dash Pass you get 0 delivery fees and exclusive perks like this one and many more how much would you like to save over the course of a regular season so here’s the play sign up for Dash Pass you unlock this and more exclusive deals all season long when any player scores 50 points or more in a playoff game Dashpass members can grab a free threepiece crispy tender combo from Wingstop the next day with a $20 plus order and the code wings stop 50 that’s Dash Pass your door to more savings more flavor and more ways to win terms apply and we’ll be right back all right David you did the homework on Danny Wolf out of Michigan um start at the top yeah uh 611 250 with a 72 wingspan 21 years old not too old not too young just kind of right there in that uh smack dab in that middle area there and there’s still enough I don’t know that we’re seeing a lot of potential from him or unrealized potential because I think he’s kind of capped out on a lot of what uh he can bring to the NBA level that Josh McRoberts comp I you mentioned it today when we were figuring out exactly how we were going to structure this episode and I don’t see it I I don’t I don’t know what that Rick Roberts had like pretty high level athleticism uh that yeah I’m gonna I’m gonna go back I watched the film on Danny Wolf a little bit more too I’m going to go back on the Josh McRoberts comp doesn’t necessarily Danny Wolf does not possess that athleticism like he’s seven feet I mean they’re calling him a legit sevenfooter I think that’s not quite accurate but either way he’s a big with good passing chops And that’s that’s really what it is with him it’s that he has great court vision he sees the floor great hustle um he just has a knack for understanding the way the game is played at the next level and sees the plays before they’re happening he sees cutters he sees the open lanes even with him like he does not have elite or anywhere close to elite athleticism but he can get to the rim he’s sneaky in his ability to just kind of create that first step when he’s on face ups or whether or not he’s curling around on screens like they made plays for him they created plays for him as a sevenfooter and and set screens for him that’s not something maybe that we’ll see often at the NBA level but at the same time I think he was able to capitalize on these things collegiately and that was impressive like to see a man a big like that be able to put the floor down again with with not in possession of elite level athleticism still able to make plays for uh himself and for others and and that’s I think it’s really where he caps off like he’s a decent shooter 34 percentish around there at the collegiate level pretty decent volume but the mechanics are fine it just it doesn’t seem like uh he just had a lot of opportunities there or or wasn’t that wasn’t the strength of his game where he sees himself necessarily as a shooter i could see him improving in that regard at the NBA level so I I think that’s an area of improvement but it’s also one that shows some promise because again like I said the mechanics are fine even for a sevenfooter so that’s that’s a definite strength in his favor because as a big who could space the floor who can make plays there’s a lot to like there but as far as what I don’t like question yeah go for it man was he used mostly at power forward at Michigan or was he their center no he was their four basically basically their four okay so you mentioned the the the height there uh at the combine he measure he measured in at 610 and a half without shoes so pretty close to you know 7 feet tall but to your point probably not a true sevenfooter um Raphael Barlo ranked him 24th on his big board but you’re seeing him move up the rankings i think the ringer had him in as that at 12 or 13 or something like that on their latest why do you think it is that he’s moving up so much cuz if it you’re you’re not seeing it i I’m not I think it’s just this possession of a skill like he’s a unique player because he’s such a good passer at such a good size that I think everybody is just saying that there’s this next level playmaking ability you don’t want to miss out on what could be a Jokiclike talent as a sevenfooter who can make those kind of plays and has that kind of court vision i don’t think Wolf is that i I just don’t I don’t see that comparison at all really i It’s just aside from being a big who can make plays but he is I’m sorry I maybe you were getting when it comes to the passing is it just like I’ve seen the highlights there’s flashy behind the back stuff like I get it sure um but is he stacking those actions is he seeing ahead of the play or is he just deciding to throw it behind his back because he can or is or is there a utility to it is there is there this No yeah i don’t think it’s just for flash sake like I said I think he has actual court vision as a sevenfooter where he sees plays developing and breaking down maybe not kind of like Draymond on desk in terms of guiding players and telling them where to stop because they see that next level in terms of the actions and stuff like that but I think it’s it’s it’s good court awareness i I have yet to see whether or not I mean that think I think it’s going to be a skill that he’ll definitely be able to bring to the league i just don’t know that he’s going to be able to with his limited athleticism i don’t know where he’s going to get the opportunity like he’s not a starter in today’s league there’s no chance and that being the case coming off the bench are you gonna get the opportunities for this i just who’s gonna go to a guy like this coming off the bench to be your playmaking center i I mean I don’t know that makes me a little worried too because the assist to turnover ratio is not awesome with him either so if he’s doing it in smaller doses as a sort of utility bench player Yeah that could be a problem uh what other what other cons do you have just almost everything defensively he’s not he’s okay defensively like he has some anticipation skills um he just he doesn’t have the lateral quickness he can’t move very well uh he he’s big enough to guard guys but he’s again he doesn’t have like possess of great strength or anything like that without the quickness he just doesn’t tie it all together there’s some good anticipation and block shots i saw some nice plays where he recovered well was able to kind of snatch those and and alter shots because of his size and length but you know guys at the league can finish at such a high level again I don’t know that that’s going to translate uh and aside from that like just the the idea of the athleticism not being there sneaky but not athletic he kind of moves like a Roomba just like real just low to the ground just sort of on the ground in one direction a lot purposeful I guess yeah maybe purposeful yeah utilitarian in his movement you know i guess when I watched him play and I don’t know if it’s just because he goes to the same school as Fran Vagner and um he’s the same sort of uh shade but uh he does remind me a little of like Fran Vagner doing a Paulo Beno impression and I don’t necessarily mean that in a good way or a bad way it’s just like like aesthetically that’s sort of what it looks like to me yeah if you’re a really slow poor athlete trying to create scoring opportunities like Paulo does yeah I could see that exactly um uh what player comps did you come up with oh this is a tough one for me because I I don’t know like they I saw the ringer had Hedo Turkloo mhm uh they also listed him as Mo Vagner not uh not Frauds Vagner there because I guess Mo collegiately did have some awareness there and he just wasn’t a stiff or anything like that he was a high level collegiate player just you know it’s turned into basically a role player a fouling role player at the NBA level i kind of see Matt Bonner also in terms of his skill but he’s just he’s not the shooter that Bonner is so he’s not quite like the Red Rocket is but in terms of Is he Kyle Andersony yeah yeah I could see that playing at his own pace but much bigger and even Right i can’t say slower necessarily but he’s just bigger than he is too tough to be slower so like a bigger like a chunkier Kyle Anderson like Kyle Anderson from Wisconsin yes cheese curd Kyle Anderson okay um Buster Muscale uh I’ve got zero all-star zero all NBA I’ve got 45 fringe I’m sorry 45% rotation player because maybe we’re the right team with the right level shooting and playmaking i could see him being like fun um if he’s kicking it out to these shooters etc i’ve got uh 45 rotation 25 fringe and I got 30% plus like I I could just see that because of the lack athleticism i I’m so surprised to see him ranked as high as he does and maybe it’s just a skill set again but I mean I don’t know like Jake Loravia was a guy who was highly touted a couple years ago and again I mean maybe it’s just maybe that’s not the right comparison in the way that they play their games but Lorravia’s athleticism definitely does not translate to the NBA level and he had to spend time in the GLeague etc so I mean if you want to waste the 20th pick on this guy go for it you get in trouble when you’re like could this guy be the next Jokic it’s very similar when everybody was looking for their Draymond a few years ago and you you get into a lot of trouble when you start thinking like oh this guy could be the next that where most of the time these guys aren’t those things ever right those guys are rare uh for a reason so now that you it just there’s got to be a different in other words there has to be another reason why you talk yourself into some some player right and uh I think I’m a little bit higher on Wolf than you are yeah sure but um I think you’re just higher in the draft in general than I am and so I see these players you do you’re like “What’s even Yeah yeah um all right we got two more prospects that we want to get to ben Saraf and Hugo Gonzalez a couple more traditional playmaking type point guards one of them who really pops in the pick and roll we’ll talk about them both next here on Locked on Heat.” Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money you ever check your bank account and wonder where did all my money go between dining out online shopping and so many other expenses well it’s easy to lose track but that’s where Modern Money comes in your personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances monarch Money isn’t just a budgeting app it’s a complete financial command center and you can track all of your accounts investments and spending in one place so you stop just managing your money and you start building wealth believe me when you start using Monarch you’ll realize just how much you’re spending on things that you probably don’t need to spend it on whether it’s food delivery entertainment maybe even wasting some on groceries and things that you could probably find a way to cut out well guess what monarch Money will help you budget smarter and save you more money and it’s the all-in-one convenience you’ll find that so useful instead of juggling multiple apps you just use Monarch to check all your finances track your spending and even plan long-term goals so trade control of your finances with MonarchMoney use the code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year that’s monarchmoney.com code lockdown NBA for half off your first year we’ll be right back i did the homework on Ben Saraf we’ll be quick with these last two uh Saraf 19year-old point guard 6’6 uh with a 67 wingspan about 200 lb um played in M last year which is a pretty high level uh international league uh Raphael Barlo really likes the prospects out of that league he has Sarov ranked 29th on his board uh the stats are pretty good but what really jumps out is the finishing the playmaking and some of the scoring lefty scorer crafty really poised when he’s driving he wears 77 and you could see that he watches a lot of Luca and I’m not making the comparison but you could just you could see where the influences are in sort of the way that he moves the deceleration the angles he has really good footwork really soft touch when he gets into the lane like that’s the stuff where you kind of start to see it a little bit you really like fiery competitive type so you can kind of see that okay this is why he wears 77 you could tell he kind of looks at this guy um I love the competitiveness i love that he takes pride in his pick and roll playmaking like he takes a lot of pride in that gets really excited when he delivers a good pass and you know he spoon feeds somebody easy shot at the basket or whatever it is um gets that real deep penetration and can make that skip pass to the corner um he’s got the Hallebertton jump pass which makes me a little nervous cuz it’s like ah like your assist to turnover ratio wasn’t awesome are you doing this just because it’s flashy but again I like I like the fieriness out of it i like that he has fun with it i’m I’m mostly pro but it makes me a little nervous sometimes um some of the cons not a great athlete he’s definitely a below the rim finisher he’s not going to be finishing at or above the rim um and with that lack of athleticism he might struggle to create separation at the NBA level but we’re not going to know it until we do i think he’ll be mostly okay in terms of getting his shot off again the angles the deceleration the footwork the soft touch i think I feel pretty okay about that stuff um big con the shooting percentages not good 42278 shooting splits you You would like him to be a way more productive especially with the high usage role that he had in M but I also like that they gave him the chances at M so it kind of goes both ways um but for him the outside shooting is a swing skill low percentage overall uh but he made he did make 37 and a half% on spot up threes so the pull-up stuff wasn’t great spot- up threes was a little bit better defense could end up being an issue at the next level my question with him um is he good enough to be your number one guy your number one on ball guy because if he’s not then you start running into issues of well what is he off the ball if that outside shot necessarily isn’t there what does he become or do we think the outside shot is there how does he perform in shooting drills do we think we can transition him more into that secondary type of playmaker and that’s a tough spot cuz you’re like okay well then who are the player comps for him that have worked out cuz he might wear 77 to be Luca but he ain’t Luca you know so then you start thinking of like all right what are the versions of that that have worked and you think about like a Vasili Mechic didn’t really work out you know those are kind of the the comps the one that I do like for a comp with him though I’ve seen D’Angelo Russell out there a little bit um Gorand Dragich to me it’s like a Gor Dragitch DLO combo for me at the high end and then at the low end it’s like a Meatich type where it’s like I’m not really sure where this guy fits in um so Buster Must uh 40% fringe 60% roll rotation player i I didn’t make enough out of the playmaking the guy’s an awesome pick and roll playmaker like awesome like he will be able to run a second offense I think i don’t know if at a super high level not maybe not at a sixman of the year level but he should be able to run an offense at least your second offense so 40% fringe 60% role rotation player i got a little 4% all-star sprinkled in just for fun 0% all NBA uh but the thing I really like about him too uh he’s got this great mustache goatee combo that I feel like we haven’t seen in the league in quite a long time and if he could just play in the league for a few years and bring that back I think that could be a big plus okay all right i don’t know that that’s something necessarily a priority for Miami’s front office do you think they should make it a priority it’s uh not something that I think Pat Riley was asked in the exit interviews so there’s no there’s no way to know for real the policy on facial hair moving forward like is that enough for them to I mean that I think we know their approach to next season we just recorded an episode about whether or not Miami should take a gap year if if there’s drafty people for facial hair I think that kind of sets the tone there’s nobody in the league that has the mustache goatee combo other than like does LaMelo separated charge Dario Sarich is he in the league yeah yeah i forgot what team he was lamelo has it lamelo has it but LaMelo doesn’t have it as that mustache is barely there it’s more peach fuzz yeah it’s wispy it’s not It’s not It’s wispy sich is but um Sar has it but he doesn’t let the beard part grow out necessarily um fair enough s will let that beard come out a little bit which is good um all right uh Hugo Gonzalez is up yeah uh 19 years old from Real Madrid 66 um I don’t think he had wingspan measurables at least none that I found but anyway still young still developed about 200 lb or so athletic build good passer decent awareness not a good shooter uh the mechanics are fine at least in terms of what I saw out there the numbers were not good so he just didn’t have a lot of opportunity that’s the biggest mark when you everybody talks about they’re talking themselves into this Ugle guy because they see enough talent they see enough there and the age is just right but he also played on a pretty stack for Madrid team did you know that Sergio Baka was still playing professional basketball no because I sure as heck didn’t he’s over at Real Madrid along with Dennis Smith Jr and a couple others so I mean it’s that was a pretty loaded team uh and they were highly competitive and so despite having this 19-year-old player that’s been part of the Real Madrid system for over 10 plus years he just hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunity at this professional club level so um but there’s still potential there nobody’s lost hope yet that he’s going to be able to translate uh we just haven’t seen it against high level competition and so there are concerns about whether or not he’s going to be one of these European players that just winds up becoming a bust uh and not really being able to I mean look he he has some flash to his game he has some of that same cockiness so there are some things to like there um but at the same time without the actual experience it’s just too much of an unknown factor and so I’ve seen him anywhere from like mid20s to kind of in the 40s in terms of some uh some mock drafts so that’s there’s a lot of questions there about whether or not uh he can become an NBA level player defensively he just lacks that kind of awareness it’s not necessarily a focus um he’s just not is not always aware of where he is when he’s defending somebody and so he can get back cut to death we we saw it I I saw it anyway on a number of the highlights that I was watching and um you know it’s just it’s not always great the skills there the the athleticism he’s got the body type there’s a lot to say you know what it could translate but it could also flop pretty badly uh my player comp for him is another guy who wound up going in that same direction that’s Mario Honia i remember doing the scouting report on him with you years ago and thinking how atypical it would be for Miami to even go that route in terms of drafting a European player he won of course being selected a lot higher than that by the Orlando Magic that same year that was the Justice Winsow draft and at the same time Honia was this phenom at at the European level that was supposed to take it to the next level clearly that never happened and he just never wind up tying everything together i don’t know if it was just too much ego or just the instability in Orlando or a combination of many factors but it just never worked out for him here and you wonder whether or not Gonzalez is going to fall into the same trap so um that’s basically it i I you know in terms of the the Buster Mus scale I could see him being a rotation player maybe about 20% uh no chance at all-star maybe you know what i’ll change that if somehow it all ties together because he’s so young even I can convince myself I’ll give him a 3% chance so let’s say 3% chance at all-star um fringe player most likely role player I’d say French player maybe about whatever’s left uh and bust alto together i don’t think he’ll be a bust i could see him even being one of these cats that just dips his toes in the NBA waters and goes “You know what it’s not for me i don’t need it i’m going back.” And that being the case yeah yeah i’ll go back and I’ll flourish there and I’ll make lots of money and I’ll live a good life playing professional basketball what’s not to love about that so that’s that’s more where I see the career trajectory um so Raphael Barlo recap really quick he had Nolan Trayori who was our first prospect that we talked about he had him ranked 14th he had Danny Wolf 24th Ugo Gonzalez is 26 and he had Ben Saraf at 29 david uh do you like any of these guys for the Heat at 20 uh you kind of talked me in Detroit but uh really not really yeah a little bit a little bit that the potential you know if you swing and it just works out you can kind of get everything to work i mean that’s that’s what the draft is yeah very few of the players that we’ve been looked at we’re looking at at number 20 just really pop i mean everybody really likes the idea of Walter Clay because he won a championship at UF and yet I mean he he’s I think he’s dropping down a number of boards there so I I just even the players that our fans really like might not be a good fit at number 20 and might be a little bit of a reach and all these players that we’re talking about there’s a lot of questions to them there’s a lot of potential too i mean I think Treyori fits in that that kind of category gonzalez as well with when you think about the last time Miami picked this low it was Yovic right that was the last time Miami picked in the 20s in the first round and he was just like the shape of an NBA player very very raw right we did our scouting report that night we were like who the heck is this guy um so we’re trying to be a little bit more thorough with our blue notebooks uh these last couple of years but um if if if you look at all I think Danny Wolf end up he might end up going higher than 20 based on where you see him in some of these projections it wouldn’t shock me also if NBA teams shared the same concerns about his athleticism and his ceiling and he ended up falling into the second round like we see that kind of stuff happen all the time um I think Sariff has an NBA skill in terms of just being able to run pick and roll with that size it would that could be something I could see i wouldn’t again when we’re talking about 20 to your point it’s slim pickings here right you’re not Cooper flag dropping to 20 so you’re kind of just left with what okay does this guy do anything that we like and with Nolan Trayori he also could be a guy who gets picked higher than 20 but if he’s there I could see Miami being like I like the wingspan quick first step i don’t know best guy on the board you know cuz it does really depend on who’s on the board uh that’ll do it for us today thanks for making Locked on Heat your first listen today for your second listen check out the Locked on NBA Big Board Show nba draft expert Raphael Barlo reacts to every workout interview and rumor leading up to the NBA draft find Locked on NBA Big Board on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts

It’s another installment of our Blue Notebook scouting report series looking at prospects the Miami Heat can take with the 20th pick in the NBA draft. Wes Goldberg and David Ramil break down the pros and cons of Nolan Traore, Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf and Hugo Gonzalez, discuss player comparisons and who among these prospects makes sense for the Heat and can help facilitate their offense.

0:00 Intro: Evaluating playmaking prospects for Miami
5:31 Nolan Traore: Elite first step, passing ability
11:37 Danny Wolf: Unique playmaking big man prospect
30:34 Ben Saraf & Hugo Gonzalez
34:37 Comparing prospects and fit for Heat at #20

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