Heat add 5 familiar faces to summer play
MIAMI — With the Miami Heat’s summer-league schedule less than a week from opening, the team has put together an intriguing mix of returning players, draft picks and undrafted free agents for three weeks of play that will include time in leagues in Orlando and Las Vegas.
Among those expected to participate from the seasonending roster are forwards James Ennis and Henry Walker, and guards Tyler Johnson, Shabazz Napier and Zoran Dragic.
The Heat’s two draft choices also are about to begin their work in the Heat’s summer program, with second-round pick Josh Richardson, the guard out of Tennessee, saying he will arrive Sunday, and first-round pick Justise Winslow, the swingman out of Duke, to be formally introduced at a news conference Monday morning at American-Airlines Arena.
Beyond those five returning veterans and the two selections in Thursday’s NBA draft, the Heat, based on various media reports or social-media reports by the players themselves, are expected to also feature in their summer-league play:
Maximilian Kleber: A 23-year-old 6-foot-9 forward from Germany who has been playing in Spain’s ACB League.
Tyler Kalinoski: A 22-year-old 6-4 guard out of Davidson who was last season’s Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.
Gabriel Olaseni: A 23-year-old 6-10 center from London who played at Iowa and this past season was the Big Ten’s Sixth Man of the Year, an award previous won by NBA Finals standout Draymond Green and for- mer Heat guard Daequan Cook.
Travis Trice: A 22-year-old 6-foot point guard out of Michigan State who led the Spartans in scoring last season.
Seth Tuttle: A 23-year-old 6-8 forward out of Northern Iowa who was one of 30 finalists for Naismith College Player of the Year .
Willie Reed: A 25-year-old 6-9 journeyman forward who this past season played for the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, after previously getting tryouts from the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies.
Joshua Smith: A 23-year-old 6-10 center out of Georgetown who previously played at UCLA, listed at 350 pounds.
Kalinoski, Olaseni, Trice, Tuttle and Smith all went undrafted Thursday.
The Heat are expected to formally announce their summer roster Monday.
Because some teams only participate in the Orlando or Las Vegas leagues, some of those listed on the Heat summer roster, beyond those under contract, could wind up playing for multiple teams this summer.
Of the Heat veterans re- turning for summer league, only Dragic and Napier are under guaranteed contract for next season. Ennis, Johnson and Walker all have partially guaranteed contracts, with partial payments due at various dates, should they remain on the roster.
Summer school
For some of the undrafted collegians, the summer invitations came in the wake of pre-draft workouts.
“You look at teams that are bringing in over 60 players, and it’s not just for first round. It’s for second round and it’s for summer league, as well,” NBA scouting consultant Ryan Blake said. “That’s the other thing that many people are not talking about.
“We now have 17 teams that have single-affiliation D-League teams. It’s not that they have to draft those teams. They can bring them into summer league. They can develop them.”
The Heat have a singleteam agreement with the D-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce. Walker, Ennis, Dragic and Napier all spent time with the Skyforce last season, with Johnson signed off the Skyforce roster.