Hopefuls to battle, no two ways about it
Summer leaguers Alexander, Martin, Silva in contention for valuable 2-way deals
MIAMI — Monday was about distributing supplies for the younger players on the Miami Heat’s roster, as they participated in the team’s “Back to School” event at Toussaint L’Ouverture Elementary in Little Haiti.
All the when the while, the wait continues for Heat will distribute their twoway contracts.
For Heat summer-league standouts Kyle Alexander, Jeremiah Martin and Chris Silva, it stands as their best means to an NBA breakthrough.
“When the contract comes, whether it is a roster spot or two-ways, at least we know we did our best and we have no regrets,” said Silva, the 6-foot-9 forward out of South Carolina.
After mostly locking in their two-way contracts at earlier points during the past two offseasons, the Heat stand along with the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors as the only teams yet to formally announce the signing of a 2019-20 two-way deal.
For now, those stand as the carrots amid the Heat’s workouts four days a week at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“It’s interesting,” said Alexander, the forward out of Tennessee. “You’re halfway there, halfway not.”
Teams can sign up to two players to two-way contracts, deals that limit players to a maximum of 45 days on NBA rosters from the start of G League training camps until the end of the G League regular season. Such deals can max out at around
#2 Alabama vs. Duke in Atlanta, 3:30 p.m. #3 Georgia at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. #5 Ohio State vs. FAU, Noon
#6 LSU vs. Georgia Southern, 7:30 p.m. #7 Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee, 7:30 p.m.
#10 Texas vs. Louisiana Tech, 8 p.m. #11 Oregon vs. #16 Auburn in Arlington, Texas, 7:30 p.m.
#13 Washington vs. Eastern Washington, 3 p.m.
#15 Penn State vs. Idaho, 3:30 p.m. #20 Iowa vs. Miami (Ohio), 7:30 p.m. #21 Iowa State vs. Northern Iowa, Noon
#22 Syracuse at Liberty, 6 p.m.
# 23 Washington State vs. New Mexico State, 10 p.m.
#24 Nebraska vs. South Alabama, Noon
#25 Stanford vs. Northwestern, 4 p.m.
7:30 p.m. Chris Silva $500,000, shy of the NBA minimum of $898,000 for players on standard contracts.
“Whatever opportunity is presented to me, I’m going to take full advantage of it,” said Martin, the guard out of Memphis.
With the Heat operating under a hard salary cap due to the sign-and-trade transaction to acquire free-agent guard Jimmy Butler, they currently lack the means to add an additional player on a standard contract, other than releasing promising guard Kendrick Nunn. Players on two-way contracts do not count against the 15-player regular-season limit. Teams can carry up to 20 players during the offseason.
In 2017, the first year twoway contracts were added to the personnel mix, the Heat signed guard Derrick Walton to a two-way contract on July 24, but waited until Oct. 15 to convert the contract of Matt Williams Jr. to a two-way, with Williams later replaced in that two-way slot by Derrick Jones Jr.
Last summer, the Heat moved quickly, with Duncan Robinson signed to a two-way contract during summer league, on July 10, 2018, and then Yante Maten signed to a two-way deal on July 29.
Martin said Robinson has been particularly helpful throughout the process.
“He gives me a lot of advice of doing everything one day at a time,” he said.
Alexander, Martin and Silva have contracts like the deal Williams took into training camp in 2017, with the Heat seemingly set on creating camp competition.
It is a delicate balance between waiting and acting. The Golden State Warriors, for example, moved quickly to offer such a deal to undrafted Boston College guard Kyle Bowman, as did the Milwaukee Bucks with Frank Mason III, once he was released by the Kings, and as did the Brooklyn Nets with Henry Ellenson, after he was let go by the New York Knicks.
Also among those in attendance at Monday’s “Back to School” event were Robinson and Heat secondround pick KZ Okpala.
Unlike with the Heat and Okpala, several teams utilized two-way contracts on second-round selections, including former Virginia guard and NCAA Tournament standout Kyle Guy with the Sacramento Kings and former LSU guard Tremont Waters with the Boston Celtics.
Currently, seven 2019 second-round picks are on two-way deals, all selected from No. 49 to 57. Okpala, taken at No. 32, was signed to a three-year, standard NBA contract.
Among those in addition to Robinson and Maten who spent last season on two-way contracts were former University of Miami guard Davon Reed, with the Indiana Pacers; former University of Florida forward Devin Robinson, with the Washington Wizards; and former North Carolina forward Theo Pinson, with the Brooklyn Nets.
For now, it is a unique limbo for Silva, Alexander and Martin.
“The other day,” Alexander said, “they were telling me that I should put I was a Miami Heat [player] in my Instagram bio. And I was like, can I technically do that? But they really are making me feel like I’m part of the team.”