The NBA Draft seems to always be around the corner and it’s never too early or too late to discuss it. The beginning of the season made it look like the Heat were really going to end up having a top-five or even a top-three pick, but things have really come around and now they’re likely to fall either at the end of the lottery or have a mid-first round pick.

Due to trades and other circumstances, the Miami Heat did not have a pick in the 2016 NBA draft. However, in 2015, the Heat were considered very lucky, as Duke University’s Justise Winslow fell to the 10th overall pick. Winslow was projected to be taken much earlier, and though the Charlotte Hornets had a chance to take him with the ninth overall pick, they chose Frank Kaminsky out of Wisconsin instead. Unfortunately, Justise suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and his season has been ended early after only playing 18 games. He’s shown great promise as a young player in the league, and there are no worries about his defense but his shooting accuracy from mid and long range must improve.

After the terrible situation regarding Chris Bosh and his health, the Heat have lacked a strong and true power forward all season and even last. Goran Dragic running the point, Dion Waiters at the two, Justise playing small forward (when he returns of course), and Hassan Whiteside in the middle sounds pretty unbeatable. If you throw in a good, young power forward there with room to be developed, something may be cooking down in South Beach.

Fortunately, this year’s draft has no lack of talent and the power forward prospects, which is a great position for the Heat to improve on, are all looking to be strong candidates:

Harry Giles (Fr.) Duke University

One of the most anticipated prospects in this year’s draft at the start of the college basketball season had a very let-down year considering he went through a knee injury in the beginning of the season and only averaged around three points. His athleticism is all there and it was shown throughout all of his high school career, but not doing and showing much at the collegiate level is quite scary. All the hype and excitement was let down by the minor setback that was his knee injury which sat him out for the first six weeks, but there were times that Giles showed just what he was made of.

Playing 24 minutes against Boston College, Giles had 12 points and shot a great percentage from the field hitting 5-8 from the field. He tallied five rebounds and showed his defensive promise with a total of five steals to go along with a block.

Most of his games never looked like the one above, as he only hit double digits once more throughout the season.

The Heat need someone to accompany Hassan Whiteside in the paint but should Giles be the one to take that early? The Heat will have a pick between 14 and 19 if nothing too crazy happens in coming days. He’s not shown much readiness at all and maybe he should’ve waited another year, but someone is definitely drafting him as it’s too much potential to miss out on. Whether or not he goes in the first round is completely up to the head offices; maybe a steal in the second round if he slips, but it might be a stretch for the Heat to take him in round one. Although he could fit nicely into that underrated Heat lineup, the draft will just have to unfold and the Heat will have to take it pick by pick.

John Collins (So.) Wake Forest

A sophomore who showed major improvements from last year to this year has now officially entered the draft and is looking at a shot in the NBA. In his freshman year, John Collins averaged 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, which is probably why he didn’t enter as a freshman. This season, though, he improved mightily and average 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds a game and having a great field goal percentage of 62.2%.

Collins stands at 6 feet 10 inches and weighs in about 225-235 pounds which seems like a great fit for a versatile and athletic power forward. In his best game all season, which came against ACC rival Duke, Collins finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds and showed a lot of mid-range promise.

Though his wingspan is a little small for a big man, John Collins is a more than realistic option for the Heat to consider in this draft. The numbers and scoring are all there, and with Whiteside getting little offensive help in the post and in the paint, a scorer like Collins could be a great fit. The Heat also very arguably are one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the NBA today so, it wouldn’t hurt to draft a big man like Collins who isn’t very big on the long ball. Some may say he’s a very underrated prospect, but his name should be known soon.

T.J. Leaf (Fr.) UCLA

Maybe a little overshadowed by Lonzo Ball and all the stories that surrounded the Ball family, T.J. Leaf was an efficient scorer and contributor for the Bruins. A real stretch four player who will easily adapt to the NBA’s game of 3-point shooting now a days, Leaf proves to be a viable option for any team to pick up. His 3-point percentage this season was a whopping 47% and he loved to get the ball off and stretch the floor whenever he needed to.

A 6 foot 10 inch stretch four will almost never be easy to guard, even in the NBA. Not knowing whether or not to prioritize the perimeter or the paint as a defender always keeps a player on their heels and it is easily taken advantage of — just ask Washington State. Leaf dropped 32 points in a win against Washington State and totaled 14 rebounds in this game. Shooting 14 of 18 from the field, he was a complete inside threat who seemed like he’d pull up for three, but only took one shot from behind the arc, missed, and poured it down on the Cougars.

Leaf has received a lot of scrutiny for his play on the defensive side of the ball. This in turn may cause him to fall in the draft a little lower than expected but at this point, there are so many good forwards and centers in this years draft, it’ll just be based off the preferences of the NBA teams’ front offices.

Landing Leaf in Miami could add to their 2016-2017 season’s 3-point success. Leaf is another good forward who could be well incorporated into next season’s lineup down in Miami but then again, there are just so many options.

More Notable Names

The names of Lauri Markkanen from Arizona or Ivan Rabb from California may also be popular names heard. Lots of forwards and centers are destined to be taken in this year’s draft. The Heat could absolutely use a nice stretch four or an actual true big man to accompany Whiteside or Willie Reed in the paint. No one knows for sure what’s going to happen. They could easily draft the best talent when they’re on the clock and hope to sign a good free agent in any needed position, or they could even trade their pick away in the case of something great being offered. None of this is should be taken as a must-happen for Miami, but a nice forward to help the other players who finally started to gel after an 11-30 start to the season, may be ideal.

In all fairness, the draft has so much talent and every player deserves an in-depth look at what they’ve done over the course of their college career. These three players mentioned are not the only ones out there to be take, they just might fit the Heat well. Giles based off potential, Collins based off great post play, and Leaf because of his amazing stretch-four ability all deserve to be mentioned along with every other player. Maybe the Heat trade up, or maybe they trade down or even out of the draft who knows? This is why the NBA draft is always so fun to cover time and time again.