The 2007 NBA Draft promised future pieces for world domination but the reality is, there are only a few pieces that could turn the tide for a franchise – and those are the first two picks in the draft.
Greg Oden and Kevin Durant are can’t miss prospects, if there truly is such a thing, while the rest have upside and promise but are still raw and have flaws.
Sure, there will be some talent that emerges from the subsequent ranks and the Heat’s Daequan Cook could be one of those talents. His ability to shoot and score and use the floor to set up his offense would mesh nicely with the personnel on this team. Then again, Riley has to believe in Cook enough to give him playing time – which means Cook has to prove he can defend.
As that is up for debate, and exactly what the Heat intend to do with Cook during this upcoming season, it seems a bigger part of the re-tooling process for the Heat will be involved with making trades and signing free agents.
Still, the draft is vital as it can give the Heat a free shot at talent that could fill a void or shore up a need. The Heat basically wasted their 39th pick for a trade of another 2nd round pick, but it seems that the Heat didn’t believe there was a talent left on the board that could help them.
But the Heat have a strange methodology when it comes to the draft. It is like they almost only value picks in the lottery, and then only like talent that goes undrafted. They make the most of the leftovers.
One of the reasons why the Spurs are so good as an organization is that they value their draft picks and use them to find the best matching talent available. Their draft this year yielded them Tiago Splitter – a lottery-tiered talent but with buyout issues – and Marcus Williams. Both players are yound and skilled and could serve as replacements a few years down the line.
The Heat? They drafted Daequan Cook, who is raw and is most likely not going to figure into the immediate plans for the Heat. At least, that is what the pundits think – who knows what Riley sees from Cook and how he reacts.
Which brings us back to the point about the Heat’s drafting methodology – it is confusing at best. One of the reasons why is, they may be very good at estimating where the talent will fall. In 2003 they got Dwyane Wade – he proved to be a steal. In 2002 they drafted Caron Butler – who fell to Miami almost as a miracle. Yet the Heat got who they targeted. 2004, it was Dorrell Wright, whom the Heat had targeted as a project with upside – and it was of no concern for Riley the coach because he was not coaching the team at that time. 2005 the Heat got Wayne Simien who had demonstrated very good NBA-level skills for a big, but questions about durability, and the fact that NBA execs seem to devalue seniors, caused him to drop.
This year, the Heat grabbed Jason Smith only to get the guy they really wanted, Daequan Cook. And a draft pick and cash, too. Well, the guy they really wanted was Javaris Crittenton, but the Heat estimated he would not make it all the way down to #20.
Again, proper assessment of where talent will land.
And maybe this is the key to understanding the Heat’s approach to the draft as well as their approach to re-tooling this team: it isn’t about talent, but about value. Getting a talent at the best price is what is key. Of course, many would argue that the Heat have demonstrated inaccurate assessments of talent as they signed Eddie Jones, Brian Grant and Antoine Walker to big deals. Yet for some reason, the Heat excel at getting talent where others have determined to be none.
This is precisely how the Heat are going to re-tool their team – they are faced with the challenge of upgrading the complementary players and overhauling the team culture from one of apathy to one of intensity and competitiveness.
Most will write off the draft for the Heat and say it doesn’t matter, but they would be undervaluing the draft and its use – teams are not supposed to find superstars at the 20th pick, they are supposed to find a serviceable professional who can contribute to your team. If a guy emerges into a superstar role, you hit the jackpot – not the other way around.
This leads us to the Summer League – where the Heat will really begin building its team. Cook will come on in and play for the Heat and show him what he can do, but so will other talents that went undrafted. Over the last couple of years, the Heat have signed Chris Quinn, Earl Barron, Robert Hite and Jerome Beasley out of their free agent activities for the Summer Leagues. They have had some interesting talents assemble in order for the Heat to get a closer look. This season will be no different, and no less important.
The Heat are still charged with finding a solution for PG, some depth to replace the soon to depart Posey and Kapono at SF, and a backup for Wade at SG as well as more perimeter defense.
The goal of the Summer League for the Heat is to find a couple candidates for these voids, and right now the Heat are on the right path as they are bringing in Trey Johnson from Jackson State. The 6’5″ guard was the second leading scorer in the nation at 27.1 per game, and thrives on competition. He average 31.5 PPG against ranked opponents this past season. He is a shooter, but very athletic and can finish at the rim. He is more experienced that Daequan Cook, and that might work in his favor of not only making the team, but being a solid contributor right out the gate.
If the Heat can get a good look at Johnson, and he can prove to them he will fill their needs, the Heat just landed a pretty good pickup without having to draft the guy. This wouldn’t be the first time the Heat have done this, and it most likely won’t be the last.
So, we all may be somewhat befuddled and confused about the Heat’s approach to the draft – and there is certainly room for criticism there – but it seems that the Heat have a strong belief in acquiring talent at the best price available. Johnson could be an example of this, and he did have his best workout when practicing for the Heat before the draft.
Maybe Randy Pfund knows something we don’t? In fact, you can bet on it.
They got younger and more athletic by landing Daequan Cook from Ohio State. The 6’5″ shooting guard freshman was traded to the Heat, along with a 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft and some cash, by the Sixers for Jason Smith. The Heat drafted Smith at 20 while the Sixers drafted Cook at 21 and traded with the Heat for essentially one spot higher on the draft poll. 
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You Can’t Cook Without Heat
“He couldn’t crack the starting lineup of a college team…”
Cook has a “weak work ethic and a massive ego.”
“Cook unlikely to help Heat find the right path.”
Welcome to Miami, Daequan. Apparently, you have a lot of work to do. And you have a lot to answer for.
Pretty much across the board, no one in the media likes this pick. Or are they really hiding how they truly feel?
But are the Heat?
“Do we have a specific plan? Yeah,” Pfund said. “You try to draw those lines [on draft prospects] and make decisions, and then we try to never tell you guys where the lines were drawn. Because, a lot of times, you end up having to do things that were not exactly what you wanted to do.”
Huh?
Did the Heat really want Cook, but figured they would draft Smith as the best athlete available and trade him to someone who wanted him? Or did they just not care and take whatever was the best deal that came along? Because Javaris Crittenton was drafted in front of the Heat’s 20th pick by the Lakers, we will never really know the true intentions behind the Heat’s move.
Yet let’s not focus on that but instead look at Daequan Cook.
As a 6’5″ freshman shooting guard, on the runner-up team in the NCAA tourny this season, there is a lot of potential that is untapped. Cook’s ceiling is pretty high, after all he was a McDonald’s All American with Greg Oden and Mike Conley, his fellow OSU teammates now turned millionaires. Then again, so was Kevin Durant, Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton – that shows what kind of grade of basketball athlete Cook is. Crittenton and Cook are the last of that list to get drafted.
But why?
1. This draft is deep, deep, deep. Loaded with freshman talents that all came out at the same time, there was bound to be some players that fell down the draft.
2. Concerns over Cooks second half of play at OSU and the fact that he wasn’t a starter on that squad to begin with.
Yet the guy is only 20 years old. He had one season of college and was on the second best team in the country, and a part of one of the best incoming freshman classes of all-time.
Should the Heat expect an immediate return on Cook? No. Could it happen? Yes.
First of all, dispense with the notion that a position title defines a player – in today’s NBA it just doesn’t. Teams want to find players that are athletic and versatile. With the NBA’s new rules which favor perimeter players in this league, there is a quicker return on investment for building around a perimeter based offense.
Cook has the skills necessary to excel in the NBA: he has a great midrange shot, can stick the three and is athletic and explosive enough to drive past his defender and finish strong at the rim with contact. If Rodney Stuckey can get the label as a “poor man’s Dwyane Wade”, then I see no reason to not gauge Cook to have a similar impact. Put Cook at Eastern Washington and how well do you think he plays in the Big Sky conference?
Yet on the Heat, he will not have to be Dwyane Wade – just his accomplice. With Wade running the offense and dominating the ball – and being the team’s best player and its best playmaker – there is little reason to really focus on finding a point guard. If the Heat were to get a PG, ideally it would be one that would hit open shots and play without the ball – now, does that sound like a real point guard?
Cook had an inconsistent Orlando performance, sure, but that camp is composed of 5 minute runs and usually everyone is focused on displaying their own individual skills and are not concerned with playing smart and effective basketball bent on winning. That means some players are going to amass a lot of mistakes, but they could also display some headiness and adjust. After all, it is a free for all – and Cook was able to turn some heads with a 22 point explosion at the end of the camp.
Adjustments were made, and interest was restored.
Kind of like being on a team with Greg Oden and Mike Conley, Jr – who both share the same agent, Mike Conley, Sr – there is bound to be some hiccups. Cook may have had an inconsistent season because of personal agendae as individual players were more concerned with showcasing their skills; then again the rumor is that OSU had a team-first constitution. More marketing?
And yes, Cook’s ego seems huge. He doesn’t lack confidence and will take the big shot and will find the big shot for himself. Every great player has a sense of overvalued ego, isn’t that right Michael or Kobe?
Now, I am not saying that Cook is going to be the next great NBA player; but in fact he doesn’t need to be. There already are two of the greatest players in the league on his new team, the Miami Heat. All Cook has to do is find the crease, find enough space to shoot his deadly midrange jumpers or pop off some three point shots – which he did at 42% for the Buckeyes this past season.
And you thought Oden created space? Wait ’til you meet Shaq, Daequan.
Oh wait, you already did, you say?
It’s true – Shaq personally spent the entire day with Cook when he came in on Sunday to work out for the Heat. That must count for something, right?
So, as big as Cook’s ego may be, it will be dwarfed in comparison to Shaq’s and it will be humbled by the things Dwyane Wade does each day. There will be good influences all around him, and he will get some of the best coaching in the league. The only question is, is he hungry enough to prove himself and fight and scrap to be the best? Does he have what it takes internally to excel in the NBA?
Because that is what the Heat were missing most of all last season – hunger.
He has the physical skills and he has a healthy dose of ego to push himself and expect to be competitive – and to win. Playing alongside Dwyane Wade, he may not prove to be the greatest guard selected in this draft – but he won’t have to be.
If Cook can hit his shots he will get his share of playing time. After all, it has been mentioned several times by several different beat writers that Dorell Wright’s mysterious cameo appearance tonight was precisely an illustration of this – it was about how hard one needs to work to get into the starting lineup, and how one has to be consistent in hitting shots to stay there. It was inferred by Wright that because of his lack of consistency shooting the ball that he was taken out of the rotation.
If anything, Cook is ready to shoot the ball and he has something to prove. The Heat are taking a bit of a risk, but it really isn’t all that much of a risk given Cook’s talent and experience as a player at such a young age.
I think this pick is going to work out. It may not be immediately clear at this time, and I even question if the Heat has a plan here or if they are just flying by the seat of their pants. Daequan Cook’s talent is there, the only real question is will he work hard enough to maximize it? If so, the Heat may have stolen a big talent out of this draft. If not, they waisted the pick.
But what else can you expect drafting at the 20 spot? Even in a draft as deep as this, there is going to be some doubts in the later first round. Yet with Cook, I find very little to question.