The Miami Heat finally bit the bullet and traded Jimmy Butler ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline. After plans to send him to the Phoenix Suns fell through, the Golden State Warriors stepped in and took on the inherent risk of acquiring a 34-year-old star with the NBA’s most combustable personality.
Butler and Draymond Green in the same locker room is, frankly, perfect. It will either be the greatest partnership in league history or a one-way ticket to discord. Either way, this was a risk worth taking for a Warriors team short on alternatives. Kevin Durant was made unavailable at the last second, and Stephen Curry won’t be around much longer. The Dubs needed to give Steph a puncher’s chance at one last magical run.
Golden State desperately needed a player in Butler’s vein. The Heat, meanwhile, add more financial flexibility and depth to a postseason roster. Andrew Wiggins is going to look really good in the Spo system, while Davion Mitchell is a fun defensive demon who fits the ‘Heat Culture’ M.O. perfectly. That, and Miami received a juicy first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
If the season ended today, the Warriors’ pick would sit 13th overall. There’s a good chance the Dubs stack a few more wins after the Butler addition, but Miami should get a solid mid-first round pick in a deep draft. The Heat traditionally draft and develop talent well, so this is a chance for Miami to start charting a course to the future — one built around the ascending talents of Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Kel’el Ware.
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Miami’s own first-round pick currently belongs to Oklahoma City, which means the Heat’s only first-round selection will come courtesy of the Warriors. The Heat’s second-round pick, ironically, belongs to Golden State, so Miami only has one 2025 pick under its control right now.
FanSided’s latest NBA mock draft has Miami selecting Israeli point guard Ben Saraf with the Warriors’ pick. The No. 9 prospect on our big board, Saraf has been making steady gains for Ratiopharm Ulm, a top club in Germany.
The 18-year-old currently averages 12.5 points and 4.3 assists on .465/.259/.695 splits with Ulm, playing 24.0 minutes per game. The are understandable concerns tied to his limited 3-point success and subpar athleticism, but Saraf’s positional size, creativity, and basketball IQ are easy to buy into. The Heat’s track record of skill development should instill confidence in his long-term outlook as a shooter.
Saraf’s jumper looks awfully pretty, despite the inconsistent success. He’s especially potent inside the arc, slipping and sliding his way past defenders and flowing effortlessly into pull-up middies. At 6-foot-5, he’s among the craftiest ball-handlers in the draft. Saraf has spin moves and counters for days. He operates at a unique tempo, capable of hitting the deceleration absent notice. His break pads don’t squeak a bit. Saraf doesn’t need outlier speed or explosion to get his defender off balance and to locate fissures in the defense.
He is subsequently a special passer, capable of tantalizing skips to the opposite corner or pinpoint lobs to the rolling big. Saraf cooks out of pick-and-rolls, manipulating the defense to his liking before reading the floor like a book. He doesn’t commit too many egregious mistakes (a healthy 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio), and he should benefit as much as anyone from the inherent spacing boost of NBA basketball.
Can he defend well enough? Can he translate his touch into more consistent results at the free throw line and behind the 3-point arc? Those are the major questions facing Saraf ahead of his NBA leap. The Heat should feel good about the ecosystem they’re placing him in. Saraf can take pressure off of Tyler Herro and feed easy buckets to the likes of Adebayo or Ware.
