ASK IRA: Could Heat trade out of and back into first round of NBA draft?

Q: Ira, what about the Heat getting another first-round pick if they have to send No. 13 to Milwaukee in a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade? Something later is better than nothing. – Eddie.

A: Is it? If you’re talking about a selection in the 20s, do you really need to take on that salary hit, while also trying to fill out your post-trade roster following a Giannis Antetokounmpo deal? But that also could come down to how much young talent is sent out, with the Heat with plenty of youth and neophytes at the moment. Plus, the Heat also have No. 41 in Wednesday night’s second round, which is 11 picks removed from the first round. And the way such picks are presented, it assuredly would be a player the Heat would say had a first-round grade in their books. Yes, this year’s draft is loaded. But for now, the main thing has to be the main thing, mainly finding a path to Giannis.

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Q: Thank you for the well-deserved Tyler Herro tribute. Let’s hope that this time it wasn’t premature. But he’s not in the same class as Jamal Murray, James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. Unlike those three, he’s low or middling in the advanced analytics stats that as a group are accurate indicators of having a strong impact on winning: PER, VORP and the various versions of plus/minus. – Morgan, New Orleans.

A: But unlike those three, he’s never been cast truly as a leading man. Instead, it’s been either Goran Dragic or Jimmy Butler or even stepping back in last season after Norman Powell’s All-Star start. The point made in those comparisons is that Tyler Herro all too often is cast alone as a scorer who can’t defend. Plenty of those who populate that category are championed instead of criticized.

Q: I see in a lot of places that Simone Fontecchio is coming back. Isn’t he a free agent? – Sammy.

A: Yes, but he also figures to be a low-cost option as a shooter, with mutual respect last season between team and player. That said, the Heat assuredly will consider all such options in free agency, to see if there might be an upgrade at similar cost.