Mikhail Torrance signs with the Miami Heat

The Miami Heat may have found itself a point guard project worth writing about. Mikhail Torrance was projected as a late first/early second round draft pick. I had actually put a lot of thought into the possibilities of the Miami Heat drafting him with one of their four picks, but ultimately they were able to trade their fourth pick and still take a flyer on him as a free agent.

Not many had the 6'5" point guard going undrafted and it is said that he fell off team's boards due to his disclosure of a condition called athletic heart syndrome. No evidence has been discovered that points to this condition to be a serious concern, but naturally teams are inclined to go after players who do not have heart conditions.

Mikhail does not believe the condition will stop him from accomplishing his NBA dreams. "Your heart's just a little bigger than normal. It's pretty common in athletes." said Torrance, who added "I can't wait for Summer League to show a lot of teams what they passed on."

"I was projected to go late first round, early second... but it was a blessing in disguise. I got to pick the organization I want to play with. The Miami Heat's a great organization."

He named the clearing of the roster as a reason for his decision to sign with Miami and believes Dwyane Wade will return. He will report to the team on Sunday. According to Draftexpress, he was the 34th best prospect in this draft, ahead of Heat draft picks Jarvis Varnado (#42), Dexter Pittman (#50) and Da'Sean Butler (#68). I don't put too much stock on the draft rankings, but I believe Miami got themselves a player who is capable of playing two positions and therefore has a good chance of making the roster. How many of these guys make an impact remains to be seen, but you can judge for yourself starting on July 11th with NBA's summer league broadband ($14.95).

Sources:

http://blog.al.com/tide-source/2010/06/torrance_signs_as_free_agent_w.html

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Mikhail-Torrance-5846/