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"A month removed from their last game and more than a month from their next move, in the NBA draft, this past week still left the Miami Heat with plenty to contemplate.Boston Celtics win NBA draft lottery: The Celtics entered as the favorite to receive the top seed and did just that, further bolstering a re-loading process that already has included Isaiah Thomas&#039; emergence, the signing of Al Horford last summer in free agency, and this trip to the Eastern Conference finals.Oh, and wait, there&#039;s more: The Celtics not only exercised the right to swap first-round picks with the league-worst Brooklyn Nets in this draft, which allowed for their impending No. 1 selection, but also hold the Nets&#039; unprotected 2018 first-round pick, as part of the 2013 trade of post-prime Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce that keeps on giving.What is important to note, and has been misstated by certain outlets, is that the No. 1 pick that is expected to turn into Washington point guard Markelle Fultz on June 22 (either to be retained or traded) was not one of the first-round selections offered to the Heat by the Celtics at the 2015 draft in exchange for No. 10 pick Justise Winslow.The Celtics are now positioned to make a definitive claim as the successor to the Cavaliers whenever LeBron James actually slows, in the interim giving the East a clear second-best team.Philadelphia 76ers don&#039;t max out at lottery: With the right bounce of balls at the lottery, the 76ers could have emerged with the Nos. 1 and 4 selections. Instead, the 76ers&#039; lone first-round pick will be at No. 3.But wait, as with the Celtics, there&#039;s more: While the 76ers came up short of securing the Los Angeles Lakers&#039; lottery pick this year, they now will have the Lakers&#039; first-round pick free and clear in 2018, even if it is No. 1 (Luka Doncic? Miles Bridges?).Already armed with cap space, the 76ers are position to field a lineup of Joel Embiid at center, Dario Saric at power forward, Josh Jackson (a potential choice at No. 3) at small forward, Ben Simmons at shooting guard and Kyle Lowry at point guard (the Philadelphia native and Toronto Raptors free agent already linked to the 76ers&#039; cap stash).And if the 76ers finally reach a decision to go all-in, that 2018 Lakers pick easily could be flipped for a ready-to-go veteran wing.When the Heat consider the future of the East, there is the reality that Philadelphia&#039;s time may have come, a team now likely to claim one of the eight playoff spots in the East that the Heat failed to secure this season.Gordon Hayward doesn&#039;t make All-NBA: With Hayward failing to make one of the three All-NBA teams, the Utah Jazz forward has yet to meet the qualifications for a &amp;quot;super-max&amp;quot; deal under the impending collective-bargaining agreement that goes into effect July 1.For outside teams with interest, potentially such as the Heat, that makes it far easier to come close to matching the maximum terms Hayward can receive from the Jazz, with Hayward all but certain to opt out of his $16.7 million 2017-18 Utah player option.While Hayward is able to re-sign for five years with the Jazz, the numbers over the first four would be nearly identical from an outside team as the Jazz, at $130 million over four seasons.The biggest question: Is a $30 million 2017-18 starting point for a new contract too much to pay for Gordon Hayward?The Heat answer: The math works only if you believe Gordon Hayward is worth more than Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Wayne Ellington/Willie Reed. And only if you would be satisfied going into next season with a starting lineup of Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Hayward, Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson (or Josh Richardson or perhaps the Heat&#039;s No. 14 first-round pick at shooting guard or power forward). And even then, where would that leave the Heat&#039;s bench?Paul George doesn&#039;t make All-NBA: As with the Jazz and Hayward, this, for the moment, severely reduces the Indiana Pacers&#039; ability to retain George when he hits in free agency in the 2018 offseason, unless George were to make All-NBA next season and therefore qualify for a super-max deal that allows Indiana to construct a package worth about $50 million more than outside teams.That, in turn, could have George on the market as soon as . . . now.But do you deal for a player who then could leave for nothing in return in 2018 free agency, with a team that acquires him in the interim ineligible for super-max benefits?The only way trading for George now (unless you&#039;re his beloved Lakers) makes sense is if you can convince him to agree to an extension.The Heat being able to reach such agreements with both the Pacers and George at this stage appears unlikely.iwinderman@sunsentinel.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.windermanIN THE LANEDION&#039;S COMMITMENT?: As if there is any doubt that money talks, Dion Waiters again was effusive in his praise of the Heat&#039;s culture during a phone-in interview on WQAM, but again stopped short of guaranteeing a return in free agency. &amp;quot;I want to be there,&amp;quot; Waiters said after calling in later than expected, having gotten himself caught up in an intense on-line game of Grand Theft Auto. &amp;quot;When that time comes and we sit down, we&#039;ve just got to make it happen. Let&#039;s get it over with as quick as possible.&amp;quot; After again being sold the benefits of a return by host Marc Hochman, Waiters did not go all-in with the bait. &amp;quot;I think so,&amp;quot; he said of re-signing. &amp;quot;I think I&#039;ll be confident and I think I&#039;ll be back. Just, we got to make it work, and hopefully everything could come together full circle.&amp;quot; One thing that became apparent is that Heat President Pat Riley won&#039;t have trouble with his own sales job. &amp;quot;He&#039;s a cool, smooth dude. He&#039;s just laid back. He knows the vibe,&amp;quot; Waiters said of Riley. &amp;quot;He&#039;s got one of those vibes you like to be around.&amp;quot;INSIDE STUFF: Sometimes the best way to get a read on a value of a draft slot is to get a read on what the team directly ahead is thinking. With the Denver Nuggets selecting at No. 13, one spot ahead of the Heat, General Manager Tim Connelly was kind enough to oblige on Denver&#039;s Altitude Sports Radio. Asked if the quality of the draft will last to his spot, Connelly said, &amp;quot;I think we&#039;ll certainly get a good player if we stay at that position. My guess is there&#039;s a first tier of players around eight or nine, depending on the team. And I think after that, I&#039;ll think you&#039;ll see a bunch of different names.&amp;quot; Connelly said he believed it would be difficult to move into those first eight or nine selections, hinting his team could target a defensive-minded big man. Of OG Anunoby, a player who has been linked to both the Heat and Nuggets, Connelly said he expects the Indiana forward to have his name called early on draft night, despite his season-ending knee injury. And if a team is looking into trading into the Heat&#039;s area of the draft, the Nuggets might wind up preempting the Heat. &amp;quot;That pick right now is not yet a player. It&#039;s an asset,&amp;quot; Connelly said. &amp;quot;If we can improve our team by trading that pick for a guy that fills a bunch of needs, by all means we&#039;d do so.&amp;quot;INSIDE STUFF, TOO: Then there is the fallout of the Washington Wizards&#039; seven-game second--round demise at the hands of the Celtics, with center Marcin Gortat, he of the limited touches, wondering if there is an appreciation for his contributions, raising the very type of questions at a time the league is playing smaller that were asked a year ago before the Heat made a $98 million commitment to Hassan Whiteside. &amp;quot;Somebody has to take sacrifices on this team. We can&#039;t have five guys scoring every game 20 points. It&#039;s impossible,&amp;quot; Gortat said in his season-ending media session. &amp;quot;I know there&#039;s a lot of freaking idiots looking down the columns for the points telling me that, &#039;You only score four or six points; team lost because of you.&#039; That&#039;s how it is. That&#039;s how people picture that. But people that know basketball, they know what I bring to the table.&amp;quot; Riley has spoken of bigger numbers going forward for Whiteside. The Wizards&#039; situation raised questions of whether that is possible in a perimeter-driven league.NUMBER$2.5M. Cap hold for Heat&#039;s first-round pick, now that it&#039;s been determined by the lottery. That&#039;s the $2.075 million slot for the No. 14 pick, plus the requisite 20 percent bump allowed by the collective-bargaining agreement.iwinderman@sunsentinel.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.windermanFor daily Heat mailbag go to sun-sentinel.com/askira"
<https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-heat/fl-sp-ira-nba-column-20170520-story.html>