A: I cannot fathom, even if a lottery pick is the desired (and desirable) intention, that any Heat team ever, before the first of 82 regular-season games are played, would establish such a focus. Beyond that, there would be no convincing Erik Spoelstra of leading such a charade. No, I believe those types of eventualities happen organically, when a team recognizes (and I'm not saying that's the case with this roster) that it does not have championship or even deep-playoff potential. But teams that focus on the lottery tend to be teams that focus on slow, steady growth through the draft. That has never been the Heat approach under Pat Riley. And if the focus continues to be on free agents, then it is far more worthwhile to showcase your team in the standings. While the Heat's 2017 first-round pick certainly has value in what is forecast as a strong draft, I don't think the draft will determine the course of the season. The players will. And the coach.