Lloyd’s ties with Miami helped Heat add Larsson, Johnson

Simon, after all, is the longtime Heat executive who came to know Lloyd while attending Gonzaga practices years ago. The two have also spent time together while scouting European basketball events and, after Lloyd left an assistant’s role with Zags to take over the Wildcats in 2021, Simon viewed Arizona practices, too.

Simon said he didn’t attend any UA practices last season, but said two other Heat developmental staffers “did a lot of work” with Lloyd while also making multiple calls to the Arizona coach.

“Tommy’s a great friend of our program,” Simon said.

The clues were there. Then the Heat acquired Larsson as the No. 44 pick in the draft Thursday, via a three-way trade involving Houston and Atlanta, while agreeing to a two-way deal with Johnson almost immediately after the draft.

“He couldn’t believe we got both of them,” Simon said of Lloyd. “He was really excited for us and for them as well.”

While Lloyd didn’t want to get ahead of things before the draft, saying of his discussions with NBA teams only that he sensed interest that “seems really genuine,” he also may have played a role.

Simon said Lloyd spoke highly of both Larsson and Johnson, who both played wide-ranging secondary roles while helping the Wildcats rise as high as No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 last season.

“We do make our intel calls and it’s important to have those relationships,” said Simon, now the Heat’s VP for basketball operations and assistant GM. “I don’t think Tommy was just trying to sell them. He told us all about them, their strengths, things that they need to work on.

“Through it all, he felt like both of those kids were the type of key players that we’d want to bring in here and develop. I thought that was a great endorsement.”

Lloyd’s words came on top of visual evidence that also convinced Miami that Larsson and Johnson could potentially fit in. The Heat, an organization known for stability and developing versatile players, picked up the old-school skills of UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez at No. 18 in last year’s draft and picked what Simon called “3-and-D center” Kel’el Ware at No. 15 in the first round this time.

As a mid-second round pick, Larsson isn’t guaranteed a spot on the Heat’s regular-season roster. Johnson, who was signed to shuttle between Miami and the G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce next season, will have to prove himself.

But Simon cited evidence that both players can make an impact in Miami. Larsson averaged 12.8 points for UA last season but hit 42.6% of his 3-pointers — and 56.8% of his 2-pointers despite being just 6-6 — while leading the Wildcats in assists per game (3.4).

“You look at that squad, the Wildcats, there’s a lot of talent there,” Simon said. “So it’s not going to be where he would be the leading scorer. He played a role and he played it well. There’s different things that he does — he rebounds, he can shoot off movement. He can shoot off the catch. …

“It’s important to have that type of skill set where he’ll handle, he’ll rebound, he’ll come up with a deflection, steals. He’s versatile player. It’s just a matter of developing his base of a skill set, and I think he’ll be able to fit in lots of different roles.”

Larsson said it helped to play under Lloyd with a lot of NBA players at Arizona — he was a teammate of NBA Draft picks Bennedict Mathurin, Christian Koloko and Dalen Terry in 2021-22 — while speaking of his ability to fill in multiple areas with a strong work ethic.

“I think I’ve shown the people in Tucson and Arizona just how hard I play for the team that’s on my jersey, and the pride I have every time I step on a court, whatever the role might be, whatever the minutes,” Larsson said. “I’m going to do what’s best for the team. That’s what you’re going to see from me, a guy that can do a little bit of everything, shoots the ball really well and play really hard.”

Johnson spent only last season with the Wildcats, but Simon said he watched him improve his game at San Diego State and Arizona while also saying he was impressed by getting to know Johnson and his background, which includes an upbringing in Oakland where his older brother was shot and paralyzed.

Johnson’s UA stats, even more so than Larsson, didn’t stand out — but Johnson’s overall energy, athleticism and willingness to do things that don’t go in the box score did jump out at the Heat executives who watched him.

“Kel’el and these (UA) guys that we’re bringing in have the versatility that’s such an important part of today’s game,” Simon said. It helps “having the depth to have players that can be plugged into different places, and Keshad has the ability to be put in different roles as a defender of both forward spots, as a lob threat, and defensively, he moves around. His lateral quickness is really good.

“So again, the word I’ve used is versatility. I think he fits that.”