MIAMI — You would have to go back nearly two decades for the last time the Miami Heat routinely had a mountain of a man routinely manning their middle. As in Shaquille O’Neal.
But now, as the Heat move closer to the June 26 first round of the NBA draft, there is an eye on such a potential future. More correctly, there already has been such an eye cast, with Zach Edey among those who have worked out for the team.
As in the two-time National Player of the Year who is listed by the NBA at 7 feet 4, 299 pounds.
With mock drafts already linking Edey to the Heat, and with Edey himself saying of his draft spot, “I’ve heard between 10 and 25,” the four-year Purdue center and member of Canada’s national team could find himself in the sweet spot of the Heat’s selection at No. 15.
That’s if the Heat are willing to commit to such massive bulk, something that hardly has been the case since O’Neal helped the team to the 2006 NBA title.
As it is, Edey has been attempting to state his case that he is more than was showcased at Purdue and is more than solely a plodder anchored in the middle.
“Obviously I need to show people I can shoot the way I believe I can,” Edey said at last month’s draft combine in Chicago. “But I think for the most part I know what I’m good at. Like if teams have tons of film on me, obviously I think I’m quicker than teams think I am, I think I can shoot better than teams think I can. I have to show that. I’ve been in college for four years. They’ve got a lot of film on me. They kind of know what I can do.”
When it comes to workouts such as Edey’s with the Heat, he said it also is about reinforcing what he does well, including several elements the Heat have lacked with their mostly undersized approach the past decade-plus.
“Just dominate the paint, like I do in college. That’s my game. It’s not any secret,” the Toronto native said. “I want to get the rebounds. I want to bang inside. I want to carve out that space inside, protect the rim. That’s my game, that’s what I’m always going to try to hang my hat on.”
For the Heat, that could present a whole new world. For the most part, the era of Bam Adebayo starting at center largely has come in an undersized power rotation, with the notable exceptions the time alongside Meyers Leonard or Kelly Olynyk.
So the question becomes whether an Edey selection at No. 15 – if the Heat retain the pick – would be solely for the minutes when Adebayo is out, or part of something bigger.
“Every team needs someone to hold down the paint,” Edey said. “You need someone to grab the rebound. You need somebody to block shots. You need someone to finish lobs. You need someone to do all those things.
“Like not everything has to be with me having the ball in my hands in a post-up. I think I can do a lot of things. Obviously at Purdue, we used a lot of post-ups. But if you really watch the games there’s a lot of ball screens and that’s what they run in the NBA, ball screens, seals, re-posts.”
And if that means the two-time reigning NCAA Player of the Year has to debut as an NBA reserve, so be it.
“It’s the NBA. There’s a ladder you’ve got to climb,” Edey said. “You can’t come in and expect to have a role immediately. You’ve got to earn your role. I’ll take any role I can get, to work my way up.
“I’m the College Player of the Year, but going to the NBA, I’ve got to leave that all behind me. I’ve got to reestablish myself and go above, prove all the things again.”
For Heat President Pat Riley, going with the biggest of big men had been an essential element of his coaching career.
For Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, versatility, even in the middle, has been stressed.
For Edey, there is more available, more to be shown.
“Obviously any time when you see someone who’s 7-4, 300 pounds, you think he can’t move his feet, you assume he can’t be mobile,” he said. “I think I can do a lot of things people don’t think I can – move my feet, shoot the ball.
“I’m never going to be the wiry, 7-foot guy. Kevin Durant, that’s never going to be. I’m a 7-foot-4, 300-pound guy. Like I’m built to be in the paint, to carve up space, to protect my area. That’s what I’m doing. I think there’s a lot of people in the NBA that do that, like (Jonas) Valanciunas, (Ivica) Zubac, Steven Adams, guys who have had a lot of success in the NBA.”
Bulkiest all-time Heat centers
(At least 6-10 and 260 pounds as listed in Miami Heat 2023-24 media guide)
Shaquille O’Neal, 7-1, 325
Eddy Curry, 7-0, 295
Wang Zhi-Zhi, 7-1. 284
Dexter Pittman, 6-11 1/2, 275
Greg Oden, 7-0, 273
Erik Dampier, 6-11, 270
Isaac Austin, 6-10, 270
Josh Harrellson, 6-10, 270
Michael Doleac, 6-11, 262
Danny Schayes, 6-11, 262
Alonzo Mourning, 6-10, 261
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 7-3, 260
Matt Geiger, 7-0, 260
Meyers Leonard, 7-0, 260
Hassan Whiteside, 7-0, 260