The Miami Heat have seemingly been a team in flux ever since the “Big 3” era officially ended when LeBron James left South Beach to return to Cleveland in the summer of 2014. Oh, hello there, Romeo Langford (more on him in a second).
Since that summer, the Heat have made the playoffs in just two of the last five years. And yet, they are somewhere in between a team that would ideally be “tanking” and a playoff team.
The result of a 39-43 season has landed Miami the no. 13 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. And despite being a lottery pick, it seems to lack a ton of weight for team that once again figures to battle for one of the last two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference barring any unforeseen circumstances.
After all, they will have almost exactly the same roster as last year due in part to a lack of salary cap flexibility and the waning trade value of some of those big-money players.
Still, being in the position that they are in, the Heat have some leeway in terms of taking risks and drafting based on potential upside. And given the background and all of the indications from mock drafts, perhaps no single layer has more upside (relative to their projected draft position) than Indiana University product Romeo Langford.
Here are three reasons that Langford would be an ideal fit for the Heat:
1. Affords roster options
Firstly, Romeo Langford would be an upgrade over Dion Waiters, who has played no more than 46 games in each of the last three seasons while seemingly losing more and more of his athleticism each year.
Aside from Waiters' durability questions, he is making a whole lot of money. After making just over $11 million this year, Waiters will make over $12 million in the 2019-20 season. Again, that is a lot of money for someone that has averaged 40 games played over the last years.
By drafting Langford, the Heat would add more depth at the wing spot while making Waiters more expendable and providing opportunity to slash payroll.
Langford's size would also give head coach Erik Spoelstra even more options from a rotational standpoint. With Goran Dragic missing the majority of the year to injury, Spoelstra played Justise Winslow at point guard.
With Romeo Langford in tow, Spoelstra could run Winslow at the point with Josh Richardson and Langford on the wings, which would give the Heat a tremendous size advantage in the backcourt.
2. Perfect complimentary piece
While Winslow and Richardson are certainly athletic, they have also improved their shooting efficiency over the years. Richardson, in particular, was slated as more of a “3 and D” kind of guy.
Langford is not a shooter (27 percent from three-point range), but he is most definitely a scorer. The New Albany, IN native averaged 16.5 points on 45 percent shooting from the field. Langford showed a tremendous ability to finish through contact at the rim, and his slashing would serve as perfect compliments to Winslow and Richardson as playmakers.
Additionally, Romeo Langford averaged 5.4 rebounds per game in his freshman season. Pairing him with Winslow in the backcourt (who averaged over five rebounds for the Heat this season) would give Miami a group of guards that hunt the ball, a strategy that nearly helped the Los Angeles Clippers push the Golden State Warriors to the limit in the 2019 playoffs.
From his similar build and physicality to his play style, Langford would be an excellent player to compliment the skill sets of Winslow and Richardson.
3. The Upside
Make no mistake, Langford is still a top ten talent. The reason he has fallen in most mock drafts stems from his struggles from the perimeter as well as the surgery he underwent on his right thumb following the season.
Langford revealed that he had been playing through the injury since Indiana played Duke all the way back in November. Yet, he still managed to average close to 17 points and grab over five boards per night as a freshman in one of the best conferences in the country.
The 19-year-old was unable to participate in the Draft Combine, which likewise has worried some scouts hoping to see Langford get some shots up. But he clearly has moxie, as he called himself the best player in the draft:
"I feel like I'm the best (player) in this draft. That's just the confidence I have and I know what I'm capable of doing."@yeahyeah22's full interview with @espn during the @NBA Combine ⤵️ #IUBB pic.twitter.com/RAqSDwwGkY
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) May 21, 2019
Pending a full recovery, Langford could stand to see drastic improvement shooting from the perimeter. Given his build, that could make him arguably the most attractive wing player in the draft not named R.J. Barrett.
The Heat are floating in the middle ground right now, so why not take a flyer on Romeo Langford, whose skill set seems to lend itself to Miami's roster makeup while also giving the front office some more flexibility.
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