Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado was drafted by the Miami Heat with one of their four picks in the second round of this year's NBA Draft. Which means it was before the Heat acquired Chris Bosh, retained Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony while signing Juwan Howard along with Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Needless to say, Varnado became a longshot to make the roster this year and now he's signed on to play next season in Italy for second division Carmatic Pistoia, according to BasketNet.
Varnado participated for the Heat at the Summer League in Las Vegas and while his athleticism and shot-blocking abilities were on display with the limited minutes coach David Fizdale gave him, it's clear he needs more seasoning and for a young player who needs to work on various aspects of his game that can only come with lots of minutes in competitive play.
Like Patrick Beverley and Robert Dozier last year when they played in Europe after being selected in the second round, the Heat retain his rights so it's possible he will return next year for the Summer League and have another shot at making the roster. Had the draft been held after free agency started there is no doubt the Heat would have approached the draft differently. As it is, the signing of Dexter Pittman and the trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to free up cap space stand as the most significant accomplishments from the draft as fellow second round pick Da'Sean Butler's status with the team is uncertain as he rehabs from a major knee injury.
Filed under: