The Miami Heat are making a rare appearance in today's NBA Draft Lottery
The Miami Heat have been a playoff contender for the most of the last 30 years.
It's a rarity to see them in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is the case for today's event. The draft order will be announced at 3 p.m. The Heat have a one percent chance of earning the top pick and 4.8 percent of landing among the first four picks.
Because of their limited luck in the draft, CBS Sports NBA writer Sam Quinn put the Heat among the teams that are most deserving of the No. 1 pick.
"The Heat, unlike the Kings, are almost never in the lottery," Quinn wrote. "Sunday will be their 11th appearance. They've never moved up, never picked No. 1 and have moved down seven times. They lose almost a full slot per lottery appearance, far more than anyone else we measured."
Quinn has a soft spot for the Heat because of their misfortunes from the 2008 draft. After a 15-win season, they were in position to get the top pick. Unfortunately, they finished second to the Chicago Bulls. In a franchise-turning event, the Bulls took Derrick Rose while the Heat grabbed Michael Beasley.
By 2011, Rose was an MVP and Beasley was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a move that allowed the Heat to acquire LeBron James and Chris Bosh, who helped lead them to two titles in four straight appearances in the NBA Finals.
"The highest pick in Heat history was No. 2 in 2008, the absolute worst year to have that specific slot," Quinn wrote. "The top tier, according to consensus at the time, consisted of two players: Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. Chicago took Rose, so Miami got Beasley. Two of the next three picks were likely Hall of Famers: Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love."
If the Heat can pull off the top pick, they would be in position to draft either Darryn Peterson of Kansas or BYU star freshman AJ Dybantsa. Both players are considered generational talents after impressive one-year careers in college.
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of HeatRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com