Potential Miami Heat Draft Pick Jared McCain Would Bring 3-Point Shooting

Shandel Richardson | Jun 1, 2024

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA is no doubt a shooter's league in this new era.

Teams are shooting from the 3-point line at an all-time high. In order to compete, they have to produce from the arc.

The Heat know this so it's no surprise they may have interest in former Duke guard Jared McCain. He put on quite the show last month at pre-draft combine in Chicago. McCain hit 19 of 25 3-pointers during a catch-and-shoot drill.

Take a look below via Dimitar Kostov:

Here's the skinny on McCain, who a few mock drafts have the Heat selecting at No. 15:

McCain's prominent freshman season at Duke is resulting in a late-lottery landing spot. The Heat hold the No. 15 pick in the draft, where he is once again projected to join Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in Miami, according to Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman. CBS Sports forecasted McCain to the Heat just a few weeks ago.

"Jared McCain put on some impressive shooting displays during drills at the combine, showing textbook repetition of form," Wasserman wrote. "Shotmaking has and will always be what powers his offense and value, but McCain's effectiveness this year in ball-screen situations, using change of speed, footwork, crafty finishing and vision, point to more on-ball upside with his creativity and feel."

Wasserman compared McCain to Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley, who plays at a faster tempo with similar offensive traits. Both guards shoot at high efficiency from three-point range, with Quickley shooting 39.5 percent last season and McCain shooting 41.4 percent.

The Heat's last selection out of Duke was Justise Winslow, who didn't pan out after being drafted at No. 12 in 2015. He left the team after five mediocre years. This could partially steer the front office in a different direction, like the experienced Dalton Knecht out of Tennessee.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com.

Inside The Heat correspondent Anthony Pasciolla also contributed to this report.