Ira Winderman: Win or lose, Heat will feel tangible lottery impact
MIAMI — The drama could end even before it starts for the Miami Heat at Sunday’s NBA draft lottery … or it could become instantly intense. With no middle ground. Based on the underwhelming odds, the Heat’s logo likely will be one of the first two displayed during the broadcast portion (3 p.
m. , ABC) of the random-but-weighted process, leaving the Heat to draft at No. 13 or No.
14 in the June 23 first round. If not, it means the Heat will have made the jump into one of the first four drawn selections, beating the 4. 8% odds of that happening, or perhaps into the top pick, with 1% chance of that outcome.
But the lottery also is about more than the Heat getting theirs, whatever that may be. It also is about the competition, namely for Erik Spoelstra’s team the competition in the East, where the Heat next season will attempt to avoid a fifth consecutive trip to the play-in round. For the most part, the Heat have been spared in that regard at the lottery, with three of the most impactful No.
1 picks going West over the past six draws: Cooper Flagg last year to the Dallas Mavericks, Victor Wembanyama to the San Antonio Spurs in 2023 and Anthony Edwards to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2020. But when a No. 1 goes East, there is no denying the competitive gain, as best exemplified by the Detroit Pistons landing Cade Cunningham in 2021.
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