The Miami Heat trade up for Ryan Conwell

The shooter from Louisville may have a chance to play as a rookie

Mar 21, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) speaks with media after the second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament against the Michigan State Spartans at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat select the sharp shooting Ryan Conwell by trading up in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft. The Heat traded the 41st overall pick and cash to the Oklahoma City Thunder to move to pick #37 to snag the sharpshooter from Louisville.

Sources: Oklahoma City is trading No. 37 Ryan Conwell to the Miami Heat for No. 41 and cash.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2026

The Heat are in roster building mode after acquiring mega star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Miami needs to add shooting, and they did just that with Ryan. He was one of the main cogs for Louisville, especially when super freshman Mikal Brown Jr missed time last season.

Conwell has made 347 threes through his stellar college career according to Barry Jackson. He was overshowed by Brown when they played NC State. Brown scored 45 points but lost in the shuffle was Ryan’s 31 points and five 3’s made that game. He is ignitable. He averaged 9.6 threes per game last season. That is a skill by itself. Ryan the two previous seasons at different schools, averaged 7.1 three-point attempts per game and shot 40%+ in both prior years.

Me on last nights episode of @5OTF_ with @DigitalAdel 👀 #LiarLeif pic.twitter.com/Timy9sOPiG

— Greg Sylvander (@GregSylvander) June 25, 2026

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No. 37

With the 37th pick in the 2026 NBA draft the Miami Heat select…. Ryan Conwell (Louisville)

Mar 19, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) drives to the basket against South Florida Bulls guard Wes Enis (2) during the second half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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Pick No.37 Ryan Conwell

STATS

• HT: 6’3

• WT: 215

• Age: 22.01

• PPG: 18.8

• REB: 4.8

• AST: 2.7

• BLK: .2

• STL: 1.1

• FG: 40.8%

• 3PT: 34.5%

• FT: 83.2%

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Strengths

• Excellent lateral agility

• Good speed

• Good shooter on volume

• Good positional defender

• Good POA defender

• Strong

• Excellent vertical athlete

• Nice wingspan

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Opportunities to improve

• Ball handling

• Hand Size

• Rim Finishing

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New Miami Heat G Ryan Conwell is a SHOOTER pic.twitter.com/CIkvwPlhfm

— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) June 25, 2026

Fit with Miami

The Heat need shooting and they need the player to be able to play right away Ryan Conwell provides both. He was a hired gun in college basketball playing for four teams in four years. He knocked down threes wherever he went.

He has enough defensive chops to play for Erik Spoelstra. His main competition will be Jahmir Young. They will fight for a rotation spot in the upcoming NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. The one thing about Ryan is that he needs the ball he has averaged 23.7% usage his whole career. He will need to adjust to life in the NBA thriving off ball. He has an opportunity to play with the space that Giannis is going to create for everyone.

One last indicator is that he is a good pick for a team that will play meaningful basketball in the playoffs. He got the job done in conference play when it mattered most. He shot 41.9% from three his sophomore season and 38.1% his Junior year at Xavier. The only question will be whether he can conform his goal to fit a role. If he does that the Heat has struck gold.

You can follow me on X @DigitalAdel and listen to my podcast, DigitalAdelHoops on Youtube