MIAMI _ With football's final countdown having begun, and with the Miami Dolphins basing so much of their future on this NFL draft, consider, too, the impact of the draft process for the Heat, and how Pat Riley and his staff largely have gotten so much right.
It is a process that Riley tends to downplay with his bent for veteran talent, and why, after this season, the Heat will be without two of their next three first-round selections.
Yet many of the questions on draft nights have turned into answers in ensuing Heat seasons, particularly the team's past two first-round picks. They currently sit in the No. 23 slot for this year's draft.
So a look back at the draft road traveled by the Heat the past decade, as the Dolphins are putting the final touches on their own planning.
(Note: The Heat did not have first-round picks in 2018, '16, '13, '12 and '10.)
