Jahmir Young, Erik Spoelstra | Practice Interviews

Jahmir Young, Erik Spoelstra | Practice Interviews | October 19, 2025

So, what was the experience like on a Friday night when you found out that it was uh I was with my agent. We went out to dinner and uh yeah, he just broke it into me and you know my emotions uh of course I’m happy. I mean I called my mom right away. Um but yeah, just just glad and thankful for the opportunity. You know, you kind of know what’s coming up ahead with contracts. There’s a lot of back and forth. You’re kind of mentally preparing yourself for the rigors of that journey. Yeah, for sure. Uh it definitely helped that I’ve been through it before. Um, so just preparing myself, keeping my body right, um, trying to stay healthy and, you know, just helping the team um, however I can. You’re a guy who’s already gotten a taste of the league a little bit more than, you know, on the two-way with Chicago. Then you go out and you have the best scoring game of anyone in summer league. Most people would think, okay, that’s going to cement his spot. He’ll be back with Chicago. He might even get a chance for a regular roster spot. How surprising were you that here you had that game in summer league and then all of a sudden you’re looking for work? Yeah. I mean it’s unfortunate just knowing um how hard I work and you know especially the performance that I have but you know just you know just being prepared for anything in this business um knowing that it’s a business at the end of the day um you know the organization is going to do the best uh for them. So for me just being stand ready um just keeping my head down and working is is what I focus on getting the taste in the league last year. Sometimes guys would be disappointed if they just didn’t stay up there. Other guys would say it fueled their hunger. So, I’m just curious, how important was it for you to get a real NBA taste last year to maybe either fuel getting to the right situation or just getting back to the league? Yeah, you know, just getting a taste of it. Uh, you know, you want to be there. So, for me, um, just knowing I had to, you know, work harder, um, stay in the gym. Um, you know, just get ready for my next opportunity. Um, it was unfortunate, but, you know, I just kept my head down and kept working. Seen a lot of two-way guys who have come and gone. No guarantees of two-way deals, unfortunately. Do you sort of feel like you’re still in the same spot you were in training camp that every day is still earning the respect, you know, to to stay and ride the ride longer? Yes, of course. Uh it’s harder to stay than to get here. So, for me, um just every day just bring being my best self um being 100% um and helping the team. Jir, u of course this organization has seen so many success with many undrafted players, especially in your position. How does it feel to know that you’re part of that pipeline that’s had so much success with players that have been in your your same shoes? Yeah, you know, just being in an organization that, you know, works on, you know, the player development and really works on guys. Um, you know, it’s it’s amazing. Um, it just gives me life. Um, just shows that I have to keep working. Appreciate it. Thanks for stopping by. Thank you. What did you like about the team up here in the preseason? He’s got a a a good way about him. I mean, he’s an experienced player. He knows what his game is, but that speed and quickness with the ball, his ability to get in the paint, ability to knock down threes, um, you know, is unique. Um, he had a really good year last year. Uh, and then in practice when we had him in that third unit, rolling against him and kind of letting him do his thing, you know, he was a tech guy. And with guys like Lion and Myin who were already on the two-ways, but they still got to make it through Yeah. Friday. What’s the what’s the message to them? I mean, that’s the that’s the life right now for those kind of guys. You can’t ever let up. Yes, they are on the two ways right now, but leaguewide, you can’t say that those are in that’s just the reality. It’s not We’re not trying to be harsh about it. uh not trying to um you know not have empathy about being in that situation, but this is uh the life of uh of players trying to make it and get a guaranteed contract. We really like what they’ve done, you know, so far in summer uh in the offse building off of summer league. They just have to continue to do it. Both of them had really good practices today. Uh you have to stack those days day after day after day. A tough reason decision pressure. It is tough especially because you know we spent time with them you know four years ago uh it felt like we wanted to keep that going. Same thing right now but that’s just where we are right now with the roster and we’ll see what happens in the future. You asked a lot about the offense the last few weeks. What do you think the defense is? It’s it’s good and bad. You know, we have to develop more habits. That’s part of it. Have to commit to doing tough things. There’s no way around it in this league. You want to uh defend at a high level. There’s no scheme that can make it easier. You just have to wrap your mind around um collectively doing tough things. And we would have times during the presentation where we’re doing it. It look right and times where we are consistent. That’s what we have to shrink that real quick. Talk about Khan Johnson. Uh sometimes it’s kind of overlooked the fact that he was just a rookie last year. Yeah. But what are some improvements you’ve seen in his game from then to now and what are other areas you’re looking for him to attack more on? He’s an older player which uh you know we like some of the winning qualities that he brought to both of the places they played in college. He’s developed well, you know, with us. Uh he’s an elite shape. He understands what his role is. He’s getting better defending. Um being able to be more versatile defending one through four, also defending sometimes when he’s up to five. He just has to stay with the course with the development. All of it will come. He’s improved his his three-point shooting. I think he’s in the right lineups. you know, he won’t be asked to initiate offense or or handle the ball even though he’s working on all that down. Appreciate it. Thank you.

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