NEWS: Miami Heat Make ROSTER MOVES Ahead of Training Camp

NEWS: Miami Heat Make ROSTER MOVES Ahead of Training Camp

All right, welcome to Locked on Heat, your daily podcast on the Miami Heat. Whether you’re tuning in on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app, thanks for making Lockdown Heat your first listen every day. I’m Wes Goldberg here with David Ramil, both of us credentialed Heat Media members who cover this team every day for daily content on the Heat. Join more than 17,000 Heat fans. And click that subscribe button. This is one more thing presented by FanDuel. We are talking about some new additions that the Miami Heat have made. We have some roster moves that we need to catch up on. They have officially signed forward Myron Gardner to a two-way contract uh filling one of their available two-way spots alongside Vlad Golden. Drew Smith is expected to get that third and final two-way contract. So, we’ll talk about Gardner here. We’ll talk about some of the guys who did not get that two-way spot. Uh who we thought that that might be in the mix for that two-way spot and what happens to them. But, uh Myron Gardner, this is one of the most impressive guys from the Heat’s summer league roster. Uh he averaged 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2.7 steals per game while shooting 50% overall. Uh he was lights out from three-point range, 61 and a half% from three, which I’m going to go out on a limb and say won’t do that in the NBA, but it’s nice that um you know, he was shooting well, shot well from the free throw line, a perfect seven for seven. So, a little bit of background on Myron Gardner, 24 years old, so a little bit older, but not you consider some of the two-way guys that Miami has brought in in the past. I think Duncan was 24 when he joined Miami on a two-way. I think Caleb was like 25 when he joined Miami on a two-way. So, this tends to be they like some guys with a little bit of seasoning on these two-way contracts sometimes, especially at that forward spot, 66, 220 pounds. Um, and he had spent the last couple years with the Magic’s G-League team. Uh, and then ended up uh signing with Miami for summer league. Played really well in in the California Classic. Got hurt for the first few games in Vegas. Came back towards the end of Vegas and just picked up right where he left off from San Francisco, just playing really well. He was probably Miami’s best guy in summer league. He got rewarded with this two-way contract. You think about some of the guys that Miami has had on two ways in the past at this position at this forward kind 66 220 forward kind of guy whether it was Caleb Martin Jamal Kane Miami has a type some of them work some of them don’t work out but myron Gardner is the newest addition. Yeah, I I it makes a lot of sense. You know, they they certainly want um a developmental wing type player that can bring something out defensively and and show some some of the heat culturish tendencies and and qualities that they like so much in a player. So, you know, a guy who could have been a second round pick perhaps or something along those lines. So, they really appreciate those kinds of players having gone through the journey and put in the work just to stay in the league. And I mean that makes sense too, like you have to be able to have a a single-minded focus and know that you belong at this level. And I think for a player like that that has shown that willingness to put in the work and continue to improve because he just didn’t have anything handed to him because he just wasn’t that that type of player coming out of college. Uh it fits a lot with what the Heat are looking for. But I I don’t you know, we talked last week about trying to figure out this rotation and it’s just his work is definitely uh cut out for him in terms of there’s not going to be a lot of playing time there. So, how does he find a way to pop? How does he find a way to shine and contribute at a high level? I would expect him spending a lot of more time in Sou Falls than in Miami. Yeah, I think that’s fine. I mean, at the very least, you get a guy who you liked on the Oyola Magic, which is Orlando’s G-League team, and you’re just like, “Okay, well, we’re going to give this guy two-way. We’re going to bring him into our system, right?” And you know, Miami, we like Kashad Johnson. We don’t really know what Kashad is going to be at the NBA, you know, like we don’t really know. Heywood Highmith is I think this is the final year of his contract, right? So, yes, it’s this is the pipeline and Gardner’s in that pipeline and guys like Josh Christopher and Jamal Kane over the last couple years like these guys just didn’t really pop. They didn’t they were brought in to try to fill the pop pipeline. Didn’t work out. And both of them lasted basically one year. Jamal Kane a little bit longer, but they basically lasted a year on on the official 2-way and that was it. And so they moved on to a new guy here. The thing I like about Gardner is in college and in the G-League, he’s posted really high steel rates and in summer league, like this guy has a nose for the basketball. He’s going to go get that basketball. And we’ve talked about this a lot with Eric Spolster. What’s the one thing that he’s looking for defensively? How can you create turnovers? How can you turn defense into offense? And I really like Myron Gardner in that regard. Like if he’s a guy who can consistently make jumpers, and by the way, he was a decent three-point shooter in college, good in the G-League, awesome obviously in summer league. If he could just hit open threes and create steals with that size and that frame. Yeah, it it looks it feels like the path is there. Like that’s the kind of player who tends to just hang around on an NBA roster for a while. Yeah, I I think that’s fair. you need to see consistent 3 and D ability. That’s his his pathway. So, I don’t which which do you think is most I already know the answer to this question. I was going to say which is most likely to get him an opportunity. It’s not going to be the three-point shooting. if he shows that he could be that kind of chaotic defender and force turnovers and and be a perimeter on ball defensive just presence. Um I think you’ll be able to see him play some some consistent minutes because that’s what we saw from Highmith too. Like before he turned into a 40% shooter, he was just a guy who could do some things defensively and that’s how he was able to earn more and more playing time. And I think you’d see the same thing from Gardenner too. Yeah, Highmith kind of cracked the heat rotation on the hands team, right? That’s like a football term, but it’s like, hey, we just need to get a stop. We just gota get put we got to get put a defensive lineup out there. We need guys who are versatile, can get a hand on the basketball, right? And maybe Gardner can crack, you know, get a couple minutes here and there on that two-way, but again, with these two-way guys, you’re not expecting them to be a part of the rotation. You just want them to hang around, right? And and just develop. That’s the whole thing. Um, now maybe if there’s some injuries, maybe Myron Gardner gets onto the court, but um, he’s a guy that I think we’re going to hear a lot of in training camp and in practices and you’re going to hear guys like Bam and Tyler just talk about how Gardner is a dog on defense and like DaVon Mitchell will just like kind of take him under his wing. Like that’s the kind of guy that I’m expecting here, right? like I’m just expecting like a training camp like Hall of Famer, like a like a post-practice uh one-on-one legend and then maybe eventually um he gets, you know, a year or two from now he he starts getting onto the court when Miami has fully developed him. Uh I think there is a surprising part of this though is not necessarily that Myron Gardner got the spot, but who did not get the spot and what Miami’s 2A look like. So I want to talk about that here in a second. Plus, Miami did fill a spot for their training camp roster, a sharpshooter coming over from Golden State. We’ll talk about that here in a second. But first, uh, today’s here are the guys who did not get the two-way contract though, and I think they were probably on the fringe there, and it was probably a hard decision, but Dvonte Cook and Eric Stevenson. Um, Cook was a similar sort of lengthy forward type 2-wayish potential, just the production wasn’t there. He had a couple big games in summer league. The overall production wasn’t as as there as it was with with Myron Gardner. So, I think Gardner edges him out. Uh but the the tough one to me was Stephvenson who just shot the lights out of the ball from three-point range. Had like this Max Streus kind of way of carrying himself, overly confident. Uh didn’t matter that he had to bounce around the league and had bounced around a bunch of different colleges. I I He was a leader on the court. Uh being out there in Vegas, he was always communicating. He was the last one. I remember it was he was always like the last one working at practice in Vegas. I think he did everything he could to ingratiate himself with the team and to endear himself to the coaching staff. I just think at the end of the day, Miami has a type and they want some of these more versatile, lengthier forward types. And Stevenson, he’s just he’s he’s a smidge short at that position. The three-point shooting is there, but I guess they questioned whether or not, you know, what else he was going to do. They ended up going Gardner here. But I do think it was a tough choice between uh Gardner and Stevenson. Yeah, it’s um interesting because you can make a case that Stephvenson is also a type of player that Miami has liked before and been interested in developing. So, yeah, that’s true. Um kind of like that Duncan Robinson, Max Streus type, right? 63, 200 lb, ton of confidence, high volume, three-point shooter. Yeah. Do they view him as too undersized to take that chance? Maybe that’s what it is. like if if he’s just not going to be able to hold his own or be a switchable type defender because of his size limitations, maybe you have to show some incredible defensive tenacity. So despite whatever he can do offensively, I I think that the the the the knock on him defensive would be too great to overlook and to offer that kind of opportunity. So it’s unfortunate, but but again, even in the past, we’ve seen what’s what’s the word that they always use? Positional size. just like SP loves to be able to see that and Stevenson just doesn’t provide that. He’s he’s too undersized for his position to Yeah, it feels like since they landed on Duncan Robinson and Strus, they just haven’t found that guy, right? Whether it was Drew Peterson or Cole Swider who were definitely bigger, but right not as vers not as maybe mobile. Stevenson can get the ball up and down the court. He, you know, they had him on the ball a little bit in Vegas where he could play make a little bit. I think maybe he’s more of like can he can he have like a Sam Merrill type of role somewhere, but you have to be an elite elite elite shooter to be like a Sam Merrill type. And yeah, I don’t I I’m not sure he’s there quite yet. He’s also 26 years old, so it’s a little bit late in his development, but this is a guy, by the way, I think Miami is going to love to have him back in Sou Falls if he lands there. There could be another team that says, “You know what? We do like Eric Steven. He he was good in summer league. He was good in Las Vegas. He could get a two-way somewhere else. Um that’s definitely a possibility. But if he doesn’t, I think Miami would love to have him back in Sou Falls. And these two-way contracts could be swapped out at any time. So something happens, somebody gets hurt, whatever, they can always I I think Stevenson would be on the short list there. Um last thing here, um or two more things, Drew Smith likely to get that final two-way spot. So now the three two ways are going to be Golden, uh, Gardner, and Drew Smith. Quick yay or nay, David. I mean, I’m fine with it. Yeah, again, not enough versatility there so that you could see, well, hopefully one of them will pop and maybe they’ll continue to develop, but I think Miami fans in general are kind of done with the whole undrafted route and and hoping that they’ll turn out. It’s more about getting the top tier talent rather than just worrying about the 17th guy on your bench, basically. Um, last bit of news here. Miami is starting to fill out their training camp roster. They signed Gabe Madson uh to an exhibit 10 contract. 24 year old skilled three-point shooter. Um, played collegiately at Utah, 6’5. Uh, uh, final, this is what his stats in his final college season here at Utah. 15 points, 2 and a half rebounds, two and a half assists, shot 37% overall, which is not good, but 32% from three-point range, which is also not good. Um, but if you go to the three years previous where he had started his collegiate career in Cincinnati, he shot 39%, 37%, and uh 38 12%. So, I think he was just miscast a little bit in Utah last year. It was a little bit maybe not I’m not going to tell you that I went into the Gabe Madson film room here. I’m going to assume that he was just asked to be on the ball a little bit too much. Maybe it was difficulty shots, whatever. Clearly the track record is there. He’s a career 36 plus percent three-point shooter. He’s known as a good three-point shooter, so I’m not that worried about it. Um, Draft Express ranked him the 89th prospect in the 2024 NBA draft. So, it’s not, you know, we’re not talking about a blue chipper here, but we’re talking about a guy with a decent body of work. Miami brings him in on uh on an exhibit 10. He’s going to be part of the training camp roster. And just another quick reminder, teams are allowed to hold up to 21 players on the roster. You have 18 players on the regular roster, right? You have 15 standard contracts, three two-ways. Um, and then you can add a couple of more uh bodies basically for training camp. And that’s essentially what Gabe Madson’s going to be. You get an uplose look at him here. I think he played with Golden State during summer league. So you get up close look at him now. Maybe this is a way for him to funnel into the Sou Falls Sky Force program. Yeah, no doubt. Um, yeah, it’s interesting name, I guess, but uh, you know, nothing to really look forward to in terms of what he might be able to produce more three-point shooting, right? I mean, Miami is they want a pipeline with three-point shooters like every team, right? They’re always looking for good three-point shooters and then maybe you develop something else and and you never know. Yeah. Thanks for making Locked on Heat your first listen today. For your second listen, find the Locked on NBA podcast where there is no offseason. Doug, Matt, and Hayes keep you up to date on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to be the most informed NBA fan. Find Locked on NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. Part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day.

The Miami Heat have filled another two-way spot and added a body to their training camp roster. #miamiheat #podcast #nba #freeagency

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