Who could join the Heat Culture this week? The Heat currently hold the 15th overall pick, right outside the lottery. They’ve struck gold in the teens before with Bam Adebayo (#14 – 2017), Tyler Herro (#13 – 2019), and most recently Jaime Jaquez Jr. (#18 – 2023). It’s about getting the right guy in the building and the Heat can find success.

Who are the top prospects who could end up taking their talents to South Beach? Here they are:

Ja’Kobe Walter, SG

Walter is a solid 3-and-d freshman out of Baylor. Miami is fine at 1-3 with Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, and Jimmy Butler. But Butler is in the back-half of his career, while Herro and Rozier have injury histories. If Walter came in and developed off the bench alongside Jaime Jaquez Jr, that is a duo the Heat would reap the benefits from in 3 years.

Kel’el Ware, C

The Heat have serious depth issues in the front court. Bam Adebayo is the only competent big man on the Heat’s roster, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the Heat use the 15th pick to address a major need. Ware transferred from Oregon to Indiana last year and it propelled him into this first round. Career-highs 15.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.9 BPG, and 58.6% shooting is an impressive stat line. The knock on him is his offensive game outside of the paint, but they said the same about Dereck Lively II who just reached the NBA Finals as a rookie.

Yves Missi, C

If Miami doesn’t draft Walter, they could draft his Baylor Bears teammate, the 7-foot center Yves Missi. The Heat love defense and Missi was on the Big 12 All-Defensive team this season. 10.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.5 BPG are all lower than Ware, but Missi could be a great project for Spo and Zo.

Kyle Filipowski, PF

Like Walter, the Heat could draft his teammate Missi. Duke’s Jared McCain has been linked to Miami, even though the Heat didn’t invite either Blue Devil for a workout. But the Miami Heat could use the second-year player out of Durham, North Carolina. The former ACC Rookie of the Year could play a natural position at the 4, having Bam stay at the 5. Filipowski is naturally a 4 and when he had Lively beside him, had his best year at Duke. If Filipowski had someone of Bam Adebayo’s caliber beside him, he would have immediate success and would be a Rookie of the Year favorite.

Isaiah Collier, PG

If the Heat don’t take a big man, which I personally think would be a mistake, Collier could be an option if he slips to 15. Everyone is talking about Bronny James from USC, but they should be talking about Collier. A very similar build to former NBA player Tyreke Evans, Collier averaged 16.3 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 1.5 SPG. He could be off the board by the time Miami is there, but he should very well be considered.

Who do you think Miami should draft at the 15th overall pick? Let us know in the comments below!