A look at guards who could be available for the Miami Heat at No. 20 in the 2025 NBA Draft
With next week's NBA Draft just days away, it's time to take a closer look at the options the Miami Heat will have with the 20th pick in the first round.
The Miami Herald's three-part NBA Draft preview begins with a look at the guards who are expected to be selected in the Heat's range.
The guard candidates include Florida's Walter Clayton Jr., BYU's Egor Demin, Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis, Michigan State's Jase Richardson and French prospect Nolan Traore.
Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson and Jeremiah Fears are widely considered the best guards in the 2025 draft class, and they will almost definitely be selected before it's Miami's turn to pick if it doesn't trade up.
The first round of the NBA Draft is Wednesday, June 25 and the second round is June 26. The Heat currently doesn't have a pick in the second round of this year's draft, but NBA teams can buy and sell second-round selections.
It's important to note that the Heat is permitted to trade the 20th pick before the upcoming draft because it also owns its pick in next year's draft.
WHAT TO KNOW
While it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see any of these five guards drop to the Heat, it seems like most mock drafts project Demin and Jakucionis to be taken ahead of Miami's selection at No. 20.
Demin, who was born and raised in Russia, is a 19-year-old 6-foot-8 guard who is considered to be one of the best passers in this year's draft class. He averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 41.2% from the field as a freshman at BYU last season. The question is can Demin improve as an outside shooter, as he shot just 27.3% on 4.7 three-point attempts per game and 69.5% at the foul line during his lone season at BYU. If Demin can become a respectable outside shooter at the NBA level, he could end up as one of the top players in this year's draft class.
Jakucionis (6-foot-5 and 205 pounds) who grew up in Lithuania, just turned 19 in May. He averaged 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 31.8% from three-point range as a freshman at Illinois last season. Jakucionis is a skilled player who checks a lot of boxes on offense end, as he's an excellent playmaker, has the potential to be a quality outside shooter and has a knack for drawing fouls as an attacker. One of the biggest questions surrounding Jakucionis is whether his lack of elite athleticism limits his upside at the NBA level. According to The Athletic, Jakucionis had zero half-court dunks at Illinois last season.
The other three guard candidates on the list are more realistic options for the Heat at No. 20.
Clayton (6-foot-2 and 199 pounds) is an older prospect at 22 years old, but he seemingly played his way into the first round by leading the Florida Gators to the NCAA championship last season. He averaged 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 44.8% from the field and 38.6% on 7.8 three-point attempts per game as a senior at Florida. Clayton's shot-making is what makes him such an intriguing prospect, as he could end up being a spark-plug bench scorer in the NBA. While Clayton's defense and size could be seen as shortcomings, the fact that he's one of the top shooters in this year's draft class can't be overlooked. He's a standout catch-and-shoot and pull-up three-point shooter.
Richardson (6-foot-1 and 178 pounds) is the son of former NBA player Jason Richardson and has Miami ties. He spent his senior high school season at Columbus High School in Miami before moving on to Michigan State, where his father also played. Richardson averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 49.3% from the field and 41.2% on 3.2 three-point attempts per game as a freshman at Michigan State last season. Richardson, who turns 20 in October, has the skill set to become a scoring guard at the NBA level but will have to overcome the fact that he's a small guard.
Traore is a French prospect who's 19 years old and brings great measurements at 6-foot-3 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan. He averaged 12 points and five assists in the French League and in the Basketball Champions League last season as an 18-year-old. Traore is a skilled passer and has the skill set to be an above-average defender at the NBA level with his length. But like many draft prospects, Traore will need to get better as an outside shooter to reach his full potential.
WHAT ARE OTHERS SAYING?
ESPN's latest mock draft has Jakucionis (11th to Portland Trail Blazers), Demin (13th to Atlanta Hawks) and Richardson (16th to Memphis Grizzlies) being picked before the Heat's turn at No. 20.
The Ringer's latest mock draft has Jakucionis (10th to Houston Rockets) and Demin (14th to San Antonio Spurs) being selected before the Heat's pick at No. 20. But the Ringer does project the Heat to take Traore with the 20th overall pick.
'Traore's stock seemingly has been in free fall from the moment he lit up the Nike Hoop Summit in April 2024,' The Ringer wrote as part of the outlet's mock draft that has Traore going to the Heat. 'He was projected as a drink-stirring lead guard who could use his speed and wiggliness to create advantages with the ball in his hands, but aside from a recent surge for Saint-Quentin, there hasn't been enough reliably efficient scoring. Miami has a history of taking disappointing performers with major pedigree and instilling confidence in them. Is there a huge difference between Traore and someone like Jeremiah Fears, who's projected to go much higher? Several NBA decision makers don't think so. Maybe Miami is among that group, too.'
The Athletic's latest mock draft, which was updated in mid-May, has Clayton going to the Heat at No. 20.
'He got better this year as a senior but wasn't always reliable throughout his college career,' The Athletic's Sam Vecenie wrote as part of his mock draft that has Clayton going to Miami. 'That's concerning for an older, undersized player. Still, teams love Clayton's toughness, and I would expect to hear his name called in the first round.'
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