2011 NBA Mock Draft: Did Miami Heat Give Guarantee to Reggie Jackson?

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Miami Heat Seek Point Guard in 2011 NBA Draft As Mike Bibby, Mario Chalmers Hit Free Agency

After coming so close to winning an NBA title, the last thing the Miami Heat need to do is allow more holes to open up in their roster.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh carried the Heat to the NBA Finals with a point guard platoon of Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers, both of whom may be gone to free agency by the time the 2011-12 season gets under way.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that Miami has reportedly given Boston College's Reggie Jackson a guarantee that the team will select him with the 31st overall pick should he fall that far.

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According to ESPN's Chad Ford, Jackson cancelled a number of pre-draft workouts he'd scheduled, presumably because he had already been told by at least one team that he would be picked up by a certain point in the draft.

In trying to determine who the guarantor might be, Ford relates:

"Three rumored teams -- the Blazers, Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets -- all say they haven't...I would be shocked if he slides past the Heat at No. 31. Miami has loved him all season, and he'd be a great fit there."

So while there is no definitive evidence that Jackson has a guarantee, that would seem to be the most likely scenario given that he's been so reclusive in the pre-draft process thus far.

Of course, there's no guarantee for Miami that Jackson, a 6'3" point guard with a ridiculous 7' wingspan, will even last that long on draft night. Should the Heat prove lucky enough to pick him up, however, they would finally have someone on whom they could count to be a reliable pressure release, at the very least, and possibly the fourth "Heatle."

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