MIAMI _ NAP time has to be over for the Miami Heat.
Nice Adequate Players only get you so far in the NBA.
And that's certainly what Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Bam Adebayo have proven to be for President Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra.
Each figures, at worst, to be a quality rotation player for years to come. But will any of the three recent draft choices emerge at any point as an All-Star?
That's why it might be time for something bold in the NBA draft, a shoving aside of those deemed Nice Adequate Players available at No. 13.
It doesn't necessarily mean you will come up with a Devin Booker or Donovan Mitchell at No. 13, as, respectively, the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz have done in recent years. But it also means you give yourself an opportunity for something special.
Safe for the Heat would be Kentucky forward PJ Washington or even Wildcats teammate Keldon Johnson.
Safe would be Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke.
Safe would be North Carolina forward Cameron Johnson.
In each case, there could be a plug-and-play rotation component with limited risk for failure.
Each a ... Nice Adequate Player.
Another option with No. 13, one that also would come with minimal risk and severe as a, well, adequate approach, would be utilizing the No. 13 pick as part of a trade to unload salary ballast, packaging it with the multiple years left on the contracts of James Johnson or Dion Waiters.
Because, at the end of the day, which does Riley value more: middle-of-the-pack draft picks or salary-cap space? (If he could, Riley one day well may raise one his AmericanAirlines Arena banners in honor of cap space.)
Otherwise, take a chance, with no looking back, but only if Spoelstra is on board, willing to roll with the ricks, rather than returning to the comfort of a Rodney McGruder type.
