Heat waste no time bolstering biggest need post-Giannis trade

Ryan Conwell — After completing a massive blockbuster deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Miami Heat wasted no time addressing their biggest need. (Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images)

After the Miami Heat acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier this week, their biggest need was quite clear: Outside shooting.

The Heat sacrificed 26.7 percent of last year’s 3-point production in the deal, and will have potentially lost more depending on the upcoming free agencies of Norman Powell and Simone Fontecchio, who were Nos. 1 and 4 in made 3-pointers last year, respectively.

With only one pick in this year’s draft, the Heat traded up four spots (from No. 41 to 37) — leaping the rival Boston Celtics — to select Louisville guard Ryan Conwell.

Heat’s new second-round draft pick addresses biggest need:

After acquiring Antetokounmpo, the Heat’s most important work rests in front of them; the next several weeks are pretty important. But snagging Conwell No. 37 overall is a good start.

Turn on the tape, and you’ll immediately see why.

As a senior with the Cardinals, Conwell averaged 18.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He shot 40.8 percent from the floor, 34.5 percent from 3-point range and 83.2 percent from the charity stripe.

However, he shouldered more on-ball burden due to Mikel Brown Jr.’s nagging back injury throughout the season, sporting a 29.5 usage. Over his previous two seasons with Indiana State and Xavier, Conwell, 22, shot north of 40.0 percent from 3-point range in both seasons on lower usage.

The 6-foot-3 guard has a pitch-perfect left-handed shooting stroke. He’s deadly off movement and doesn’t need a ton of airspace to get off his shot despite modest lift. Alongside Antetokounmpo, Conwell — who buried 347 3-pointers in his collegiate career, the fourth-most in the country over that span — is an excellent off-ball shooter who does a good job relocating and squaring his shoulders off movement.

Conwell doesn’t create a ton of separation, but he does like using one-dribble step-backs and side steps to create extra airspace. He’s also not a great ballhandler in traffic, but does showcase some wiggle when getting to his spots inside-the-arc.

Still, Conwell’s calling card is his shooting. The Heat still needs more of it. But if his sophomore and junior seasons suggest anything, it’s that, at least to start his career, he has the potential to thrive in an off-ball secondary creation role off the bench. And if the Heat unearth more, then Conwell’s another diamond in the rough they have discovered.