Heat interested in Draft prospects Jalen Smith, Malachi Flynn

The 2020 NBA Draft is just under a month away, Nov. 18. And according to reports, the Miami Heat have expressed interest in a couple of players who may give clues as to other plans the team has.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported Monday that the Heat have requested a Zoom session with former Maryland big man Jalen Smith, who is listed as going 13th to the New Orleans Pelicans in The Ringer’s latest mock draft. The Heat hold the 20th pick in the upcoming draft.

At 6-foot-10, Smith has 3-point range — he shot 36.8 percent on 87 3-point attempts in his second college season. Drafting Smith could signal that Miami doesn’t plan to re-sign Meyers Leonard or could look to trade Kelly Olynyk, who is expected to opt into a $12.2 million player option for this year. But even putting Leonard and Olynyk to the side, the Heat could use some depth at the power forward/center position. Miami relies on Bam Adebayo for so much on both ends of the floor.

And Greg Sylvander of the 5 Reasons Sports Network reported that the Heat are intrigued by Malachi Flynn, who The Ringer lists as being drafted with the 24th pick.

Flynn fits the mold of a defensive-minded point guard the Heat sorely lacked last season. Although Goran Dragic will probably re-sign with Miami, he’ll be 35 years old next season. Erik Spoelstra will want to keep him as a sixth man during the regular season. And besides, Kendrick Nunn may not be a long-term answer at guard for the Heat. He was out of the rotation in the playoffs before Dragic’s injury.

In their last two first-round picks, the Heat have struck gold in Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Let’s see if Miami finds another good piece next month.