Heat find answers at summer league, but not necessarily any hidden gems

MIAMI – This was a different summer league for the Miami Heat, one where the roster outcome largely was known before the start. Five players would be featured, the others would have the opportunity for exposure to the rest of the league.

To that extent, mission accomplished, with quality playing time offered to Kel’el Ware, Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson, Vlad Goldin and Kasparas Jakucionis, and quality results at one time or another provided by Ware, Larsson, Johnson, Goldin and Jakucionis

A year ago, the summer competition for invitations to training camp was such that Cole Swider and Alondes Williams were stripped of their two-way contracts in the midst of summer league to accommodate the next group of camp hopefuls, players such as Johnson, Isaiah Stevens, Zyon Pullin, Josh Christopher and Caleb Daniels.

This year, the appreciation from summer coach Eric Glass, the Erik Spoelstra assistant, was how the supporting players stepped up to help meet the Heat’s overriding priorities during the three weeks split between the California Classic and the Las Vegas NBA Summer League.

“I was really happy. You know how hard it is when you bring in a bunch of college kids and first-year players together for a couple of weeks. It’s really hard to bond and have team chemistry and have guys playing for each other,” Glass said.

“That’s a really hard concept for guys when they’re all trying to earn contracts. And I was really happy from day one, the guys really bonded with each other. We made it a big emphasis about playing for each other and trying to have each others’ backs. And I was really proud of the group. They stayed true to that. They weren’t perfect all the time, but they stayed true to that the entire three weeks and that was something that really made me happy.”

By now, the moments of summer sizzle from the mainstays of the summer roster have been well chronicled:

– Amid his other struggles, there was the 24-point breakout by Jakucionis against the Atlanta Hawks.

– An 18-point scoring average by Larsson in his three Las Vegas appearances, before leaving to join the Swedish national team.

– A 21-point, nine-rebound performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers by Ware that was followed by his 21-point, 15-rebound game against the Boston Celtics.

–  A 22-point outing by Johnson in that victory over the Celtics that featured a pair of 3-point conversions.

– A summer-finale 18-point, 10-rebound double-double by Goldin in the victory over the Milwaukee Bucks that ended the Heat’s Vegas run at 2-3 and evened the overall summer record at 4-4.

Asked about who else caught his eye during the summer, Glass, in typical Heat fashion, played it close to the vest, deferring to the front-office hierarchy of Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg and Adam Simon.

“Pat and Andy and Adam will kill me if I tell you that answer,” Glass said with a laugh.

That’s not to diminish the moments created by others on the 15-player summer roster who are left to see what comes next.

At the moment, the Heat have 15 players under contract, allowed to carry a maximum of 21 prior to the start of the regular season.

Among non-roster players who had their moments during summer league, it largely was a group of older players who might not fit a developmental timetable, with two exceptions:

– There was an 18-point effort by 6-foot-3 guard Bryson Warren against the Los Angeles Lakers before the 20-year-old Heat G League player was sidelined for the final six games of summer league by a hamstring injury.

“He’s a good all-around player,” Glass said. “He can shoot it. He can put it on the floor. He can make plays. He’s showing that he can defend at the level we want to do.”

– There was an intriguing mix of size and scoring from 6-9 Dain Dainja, the 22-year-old power forward who last month went undrafted out of Memphis.

“He’s a really good one-on-one player,” Glass said. “He’s really skilled in that Karl Malone area.”

– There was the expected steadiness of point guard Kira Lewis Jr., a 24-year-old veteran with four seasons of NBA experience, with the Heat summer attack more efficient when he was on the court.

“Outside of his experience factor, he’s a really quick guard, he makes good decisions,” Glass said. “When the moment’s there, he hits it. He doesn’t hesitate; he doesn’t waste any moments.”

– There was the athletic bent of 6-6 wing Javonte Cook, a 26-year-old veteran of the G League.

“I feel like I’ve shown my offensive capabilities. I’m trying to hone in more on the defensive end, because I have that, too, as well,” Cooke said. “You can put me in anywhere and I do what it takes.”

– There was the consistency of 6-4 Erik Stevenson, the 26-year-old G League guard who appeared in all five games in Las Vegas and averaged 10.6 points, shooting .500 from beyond the arc.

“He brought a lot of great spacing for us,” Glass said of the former G League All-Star.

– There was the late push by 6-6 wing Myron Gardner, who missed most of summer league with a finger injury sustained in the California Classic, but then returned with 19– and 16-point performances in the final two Vegas games.

Gardner, 24, went undrafted out of Little-Rock in 2023, spending the past two seasons in the G League.