After losing in the Play-In tournament, the Miami Heat are expected to have a pick inside the draft lottery this upcoming draft. The team could have a lot of holes, considering a lot of signs are pointing to a decent amount of roster changes this offseason. This draft class is expected to be one of the strongest in recent memory and the Heat could be sitting in a strong position to snag a highly-coveted player.
Bleacher Report released their updated first-round mock draft. In their projection, Miami holds the No. 13 selection, just inside the lottery and select Washington Huskies center Hannes Steinbach. In a separate article from Bleacher Report, the German center is compared to Zach Collins, a 2017 first-round pick who spent the early part of his career with injury concerns before carving out a role as a backup center.
"The Heat might have all sorts of questions around their backcourt - will they keep Norman Powell? extend Tyler Herro? - but their frontcourt needs some attention, too," the article wrote. "Kel'el Ware seems entirely untrusted by the coaching staff, and if Miami ever ditches this mediocre run for a long-term rebuild, maybe Bam Adebayo is a sneaky summer trade candidate. Enter Steinbach. He is sort of the anti-Ware in that his shooting is shaky and his rim protection is nonexistent, but he's also the anti-Ware in terms of being incredibly consistent with his levels of engagement and activity. Steinbach is skilled and hardworking around the rim, and there's a chance he'll be a spacer at some point."
Steinbach was the leading man for Huskies throughout their lackluster season, although he was a bright spot. Washington finished 12th in the Big Ten standings with a a 16-17 overall record and a 7-13 record in conference play. Steinbach averaged 18.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point range. Steinbach was not ranked in the class of 2025 ESPN recruitment rankings. However, he was viewed as a four-star recruit in the 24/7 Sports database.
The Heat could definitely add another center/forward hybrid to the rotation, especially if the team parts with Kel'el Ware as part of a blockbuster trade this offseason. Steinbach's impressive shooting splits, along with his skillset as a spacer around the rim, could make him an intriguing option in the first round.
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