Will the Miami Heat be able to bounce back and make another run for the NBA Finals in 2024?

The Denver Nuggets officially sealed a win in the NBA Finals with a 94-89 win over the Heat in Ball Arena. Forward Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 21 points in 41 minutes played in Game 5, while center Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 12 rebounds in 44 minutes.

“Those last three or four minutes felt like a scene out of a movie,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, via the Associated Press. “Two teams in the center of the ring throwing haymaker after haymaker, and it's not necessarily shot making. It's the efforts.”

The Heat will have nine players who at least have the option of returning to Miami for the 2023-24 season, according to Spotrac. Guard Victor Oladipo is listed with a player option, while forward Haywood Highsmith has a non-guaranteed contract. Forward Kevin Love, guard Gabe Vincent and center Cody Zeller make up some of the team's unrestricted free agents.

The Heat hold the No. 18 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. They could try to add depth to the one, the four or the five should they choose not to bring back a few of their key free agents.

Who are some players the Miami Heat should look out for with the No. 18 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft?

Nick Smith Jr.

The Heat may need to find a backup option at the point guard if Vincent went to another team.

Guard Kyle Lowry, who Miami brought in through a sign-and-trade in 2021, played in 55 games and started in 44 for the Heat last season. He earned averages of 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game while hitting 40.4% of his shot attempts and 34.5% of his tries from the 3-point line. He will become an unrestricted free agent in 2024.

Guard Nick Smith Jr., a 6-foot-5-inch guard from Arkansas, could be a decent long-term option for the Heat if he were to fall to them at No. 18. He averaged 12.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 17 games and 14 starts for the Razorbacks last season.

Smith went over what he felt he could bring to an NBA team after working out with the Washington Wizards earlier this month.

“I feel like I bring everything to a team, whatever the coach needs me to do,” Smith said, via Yahoo! Sports. “My point guard abilities, I feel like I didn't get a chance to show a lot in my college year; my scoring ability. Being able to play defense and make different reads, just little stuff like that.”

Leonard Miller

If any team can take a chance on a high-ceiling NBA prospect, it's the Miami Heat.

The Heat played seven undrafted players during the NBA playoffs, according to the Miami Herald. Adebayo, who averaged 21.8 points and 12.4 rebounds over the course of the Finals, was drafted with the No. 14 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Forward Leonard Miller, a 19-year-old forward from G League Ignite, will need time and patience before becoming a more significant part of Miami's roster. But the 6-foot-10-inch forward already has experience playing against high-level talent, a point he went over during a one-on-one interview with the Indiana Pacers.

“Going to the G League helped me prepare so much because of the feel of the game, the pace,” Miller said, via the Pacers. “It's the same rules as the NBA. It's really the same format. We're going up against grown men. The competition is like no other. Everybody's just trying to go out and compete. It's always a battle every night out there.

“It prepared me so much because I've grown so much as a player, on and off the court. On the court, I know where I need to be to really be successful. My game is just more solid. I feel really comfortable out there.”

Kris Murray

No team can ever have too much versatility.

The Heat must add more versatile forwards should Kevin Love not return to the roster. Murray, a 6-foot-8-inch forward out of Iowa, showed off his versatility as his stats were boosted to an average of 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per outing during his third year at Iowa.

The native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, took pride in his versatility during a May interview at the NBA Draft Combine.

“I think shooting is something you can't compete with, being just a great shot maker and being able to space the floor is really key in the NBA,” Murray said, via Hawkeyes Wire. “And, I think just being versatile, I feel like that's something I've always been my whole entire life. Especially these last few years, I've been a versatile defender, versatile offensively. Just play multiple positions, guard multiple positions.

“I think that that's something I can definitely take to the next level.”