Miami Heat Summer League 2025: Everything You NEED to Know

Miami Heat Summer League 2025: Everything You NEED to Know

I hate long intros, man. Y’all read the title, so let’s get right into it as Miami Heat Summer League kicks off tonight in what is truly the most wonderful time of the year. No, seriously, this might be the peak of our season once again. So, I highly recommend y’all tune in, which starts tonight in the California Classic, which is actually just a small tournament that only includes four teams. The Heat will play the Spurs, Lakers, and then the Warriors. So, there’ll be a couple interesting players that we get to watch. Of course, the number two overall pick and Dylan Harper. I’m assuming he’s playing. I’m assuming all these guys are playing. So, that’ll be really cool to see. Of course, the Spurs also have Carter Bryant, one of the guys that we did a deep dive on earlier last month. And then the Lakers also have Adu Theo, the nice defensive player that we discussed as well. So, a couple interesting players. It’ll be a very action-packed weekend as the Miami Heat play three games in four nights, which actually starts with a backtoback. I remember last year in the California Classic, I think they also had a backtoback and the coach rested most of the guys you heard of in the second game. So, just be aware that we might not see everybody from the jump right away. But then, of course, after that, we do get the famous Las Vegas summer league in which all 30 teams will participate. the Heat play four games there. That’ll be the Hawks, Cavs, Celtics, and the Pistons. And we’ll see some guys that we also discussed earlier like Asa Newell on the Hawks. And then Hugo Gonzalez was taken by the Celtics. So assuming those guys play, it’ll be pretty cool to get our first look at some of the guys that we’ve been discussing. And then of course after this those four games, there will be a playoffs assuming the Miami Heat make the thing again. And then they’ll make they’ll play a few additional games there. Of course, you remember last year the Heat were dominant. If I remember correctly, I think they lost their very first game of the California Classic. And then I I think they never lost again. Maybe they ended up losing like one game in Vegas as well, but they ended up winning the championship versus the Memphis Grizzlies. Super exciting game. It actually went to sudden death overtime and our guy Pella Larson hit a gamewinner. Uh definitely the most hyped was I I was all season. But the good news is our team looks absolutely stacked again. There is several returning players. Of course, the most notable one is Khaloo where I would sort of temper our expectations with regards to how much playing time he’s going to get because I don’t think it’s going to be a ton. If you remember last year, I don’t think Jame Hawz played at all in the California Classic. So, we might not see wear in that tournament either. But then in the the Vegas summer league, I think Hawkins played like two games and he looked exactly how you hoped. He absolutely dominated in those two games. Truly was the definition of like man against boys and that was one of the reasons I was so optimistic about him going into the season. I remember we heard last summer that in the uh the USA training camp, two guys really stood out outside of the main team and it was Cooper Flag and Jame Hakez. and then you went into the summer league and you saw him stand out again. Why that didn’t translate to the regular season, I don’t necessarily know. There’s definitely some reasons, you know, some inconsistencies and the whole Jimmy Butler thing, but point is Khil Wear will play again in this summer league. Probably very little. And the main goal that you want to see there is you just want to see him stand out because I think he’s better than almost everyone in the summer league. So, you just kind of want to see him go out there and prove that. One of the other guys returning is of course or I guess both our guys is Pella Larson and Kashad Johnson. Both of our Arizona rookies from last season. I do think both of those guys could get substantial minutes. Uh they’re both under contract so we know they’re going to be on the team but they didn’t get as much playing time last year as a guy like Khil. So this is really going to be a time where they can kind of hone their skills. Uh specifically Kashad Johnson who barely got to play at all last season. uh Pella Lararsson, the Heat have uh him under contract for two more years. Kashad Johnson, they picked up his contract for at least one more year. So, the Heat definitely want to know what they have in those guys while they’re still on their cheap rookie deals. I think they’re really going to get the most usage and opportunity in this summer league. Kind of reminds me of what the Heat did with Max Struce and Omar Yurtzen. I think it was in 2021. Both of those guys were coming off of their rookie season, so they had some experience. didn’t play a ton, but you expected them to get some pretty heavy minutes the following regular season, which is why they really gave them the keys in that summer league to see what they could do as the number one or number two option. Omar Yurtzan played really well, ended up starting a little bit the next regular season, but really didn’t stand out. But of course, it was Max Truce who who really uh took off. It was sort of his his coming out party that next season, and that did translate from the summer league where he was awesome. Of course, you remember he hit a gamewinner, too, in sudden death overtime. Uh, I think the Heat won the jump ball. He came down the court and just raised for three. Gamewinner, ice in his veins, just a super coldblooded shot. That’s when I knew Max Truce would be a big- time player in summer league. Uh, and now we’re seeing him continue to have success in the NBA, of course, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers. So, just like those guys got some pretty heavy minutes in the summer league, I think the same will be said for Pella Larson and Nashad Johnson in this summer league. And I do hope that both those guys get substantial minutes in the regular season as well because if the Heat are truly going young as they’re trying to tell us, I think honestly they just struck out in free agency in the trade market. So now their excuse is, oh, we have young guys that we want to develop, which I’m cool with that plan. So if you’re going to say that, just play those guys. And I’m really looking forward to seeing what they have cuz I’m very high on them. Spec uh specifically Kashad Johnson. I’ve been telling y’all since before last summer league buy all of his stock and he did dominate last summer league. So this time I expect him to be even better. Now one of the new guys that of course we are the most excited to see is our rookie number 20th pick in the in the draft Casperis Yakonis just like Pella and Gashad. I think he will play a ton. Some of the things that I’m looking forward to is his connection with the all the big men that we have on this team. I’m really hoping that we at least get a couple of lobs to Khalil Wear in whichever games Wear does play. But I do think they’re going to give him the keys. They’re going to let him make all the mistakes that he needs to just so they can really see what they have on him because remember Casper is a guy they did not even work out prior to drafting him cuz they didn’t think he would fall to him. But so far they they showed some clips of him in practice. Uh I’m very excited about him. I I love that draft pick and I think we’ll be able to tell pretty quickly uh what type of player he is in summer league. I’m looking for him to go out there uh and dominate. Some of the things that I will be paying closer attention to with him is I really want to keep an eye on his turnovers. Obviously, that was one of the biggest knocks on him in college. So, I’m very curious now if he still has the same amount of turnovers now that he’s playing with some better competition. And I’m also curious that how much of those turnovers will be his faults slash how many are avoidable cuz in college he had a lot of turnovers but I think a lot of them was him trying to force a lot of passes because he is such a great passer. Sometimes that you know leads to you trying to do harder passes than you really need to. And if that’s the case I’m optimistic about him as a player because that’s something you can cut down. That’s something you can learn with experience. You can learn from watching film. Uh, so it’s not really a skill issue. It’s more of just a learning how to play the game issue. So, I’m going to be playing a paying a close attention to his turnovers. And then also, I’m going to look very closely at his defense. He wasn’t known as a defender in college, but I saw a lot of great plays that showed some some nice hustle on that side of the ball. Uh, and I just want to see if they pick on him and kind of how he reacts to that. outside of Casperis. Uh then another thing I want to look out for on this roster is which of their several big man will stand out. We’ve done these little deep dive videos on all of them because it’s very clear that’s uh a key point of interest that the Heats were looking for when developing the summer league roster is looking for some size that could potentially be a backup center on the actual pro team. Of course, they have Vlad Golden. They signed him to a two-way contract pretty much immediately. He’s a 7 foot1 kid out of Michigan, like 250 lbs. I read he was actually ranked the second best undrafted prospect. So, it’s very nice that he were able to get their hands on him. Of course, he already signed that two-way spot. Uh, so he’s a guy that will probably get the most run, but outside of him, you got a couple of just bruising, dominant, massive guys, and Omar Balo and Dane Danger. I can’t pick which one of those guys I like the most. They have similar play styles and they’re just so big. And the Heat have not had anyone who’s like physically imposing in such a long time. That’s why both of those guys get me excited. And they’re just heat culture guys. They play angry. They try to dunk everything. They try to block everything. They have a massive wingspan and I just think they’re both very very good players. I really do. Uh same same with Steve Settle, another 610 bigman that they have. He’s not a bruiser. He’s more of a perimeter shooter type of guy, but there seems to be a lot of skill there. He is 24 years old, so a little bit of a late bloomer, but I think he’s a guy that could surprise some Heat fans as well. So, I’ll be looking at those guys. I think they are some pretty prime candidates to get one of the Heat’s final two-way spots. Each team is allowed three two-way contracts. Vlad Golden currently has the first one. That could change. I believe Drew Smith will get the second as the Heat will help him recover from his Achilles injury. He doesn’t have it yet, but if we want to assume he does, that still means that the Heat would have one two-way spot open. And I could see that going to Ballow Danger or Steve Settle based off who really outperforms in the summer league. But again, all this stuff is fluid. Maybe if Danger and Steve Settle dominate, maybe one of them takes Vlad Golden’s contract. So, that’s why I’ll be playing very close attention to the minutes and how well they perform. The last guy on the roster that I want to note is Kira Lewis. The former lottery pick who spent four seasons in the NBA, is a bit older, also 24 years old. I wonder how much playing time he’ll get. Uh I’m not as familiar with the other guards on the roster outside of Casperis and Pella. So, I wonder if the Heat are going to use him or maybe uh focus on giving some of the younger guys some more run because truthfully, I don’t really see a role for uh for Kier Lewis on the main squad. You know, the Heat resigned DaVon Mitchell. Uh you drafted Casper, so I don’t see a huge role for him. you know, he’ll he’ll kind of have the Josh Christopher role on this summer league team as kind of the former first round pick reclamation project, but I’m just not as hopeful on Kira Lewis cuz I feel like last year a guy with a guy like Josh Christopher, he needed someone like that back then. They needed someone who could score. They needed someone who could also defend uh from the perimeter of the point of attack because that’s before they had DaVon Mitchell. So, I felt like there was more of a need for for a guy like Josh Christopher. Uh, who, by the way, is is not back on the summer league team. He’s not actually on any roster at the moment. Uh, last year he dominated with the Heat squad. Uh, he actually earned a two-way spot after winning championship MVP in in the finals game. Uh, and he barely played in the regular season, though. He was very good in the G-League with the Souf Falls Sky Force. Put up great numbers there, but for whatever for whatever reason, he’s not currently on the roster. So, I I don’t think he’ll be back with the Miami Heats, but I am a fan. You know, he specifically requested the Miami Heat because he talked on and on about how much he appreciated our culture and how he think our culture would benefit him. And he did surprise me. He was a very good uh defender, I thought, in addition to his scoring. So, I hope he does end up somewhere, but he’s not anywhere as of right now. Uh neither is Isaiah Stevens, the guy from last year who really uh surprised everyone. He’s like one of the last guys that anybody was looking at. We were all hype about Khalil and Kashad and uh and Pella, but Isaiah Stevens is one of the guys that really set himself apart. Uh he was actually signed to an exhibit 10 contract, got himself promoted to one of the two-way contracts, but then had the same fade as Josh Christopher. You know, barely played in the regular season, thrived in the G-League, and now he’s currently not on a summer league team. So, I do hope he gets picked up. Some of the other heat guys from last year that were pretty important in our championship run did get picked up. I want to shout out Alis Williams. Of course, he was amazing last year. Oh my, the dunks he had. My god, that boy knew how to put on a show. Also thrived with the Sou Falls Sky Force, but right now he finds himself with the Orlando summer league, which is a bit odd. He’s 26 years old. This just seems kind of old for summer league. I don’t know. It’s mostly kids playing, but good for Alandis. I am a big fan as I am with Cole Schwider of course the sniper that the Heat had last season. He’s now on the Lakers summer league team also 26 years old. So these some older guys guess I’m glad the Heat didn’t bring that those guys back just because of the age. But it is cool that Swider’s back in LA actually was on the Lakers before coming to the Miami Heat. So he finds himself back in a situation that he’s familiar with. I will say though, I wish the Heat had a guy on their team similar to the build of Swider. So, so sort of to have a sniper in the pipelines because now with no Duncan Robinson, it’s like Tyler Hero is your only shooter on the roster. I think they need some more of that. In the past, they had Stru Swider. Right now, they don’t really have anyone that that could really knock it down, but maybe they find some shooting elsewhere. Lastly, I just want to note that this year, Eric Glass is the coach. Of course, you know, he’s been an assistant with the Heat for several years. Now, he’ll coach the summer league. Last year, it was Dan Basakio, who is still the Sou Falls Sky Force coach, so he didn’t go nowhere. He’s just not coaching summer league. And then, finally, the last thing that you really need to know is that I will be covering every single game on this channel. So, make sure y’all like and subscribe so you don’t miss it. After the game today, I will be recording a postgame video. Uh, and the plan is to do that for every Summer League game. So, so yeah, I greatly appreciate all the support. Actually, at the time of this recording, which is 1:00 a.m. on July 5th, I’m like six subs away from 8,000. So, I’m going to be optimistic and assume that by the time you’re seeing this, I’m at that 8K. And if that’s the case, I genuinely greatly appreciate all of y’all. Like, YouTube is is what I’ve always wanted to do, man. So, the support’s been insane over the last few weeks. Uh, and I just I just have to thank y’all. So, make sure to leave your thoughts down in the comments below. Very curious to hear what y’all think and I’ll see y’all for the post game tonight. Peace out every dead face. Do it on my own. I don’t need no dead. Yeah, I need a head space. You know this homegrown don’t have fan.

Discussing the 2025 NBA Summer League for the Miami Heat featuring Kel’el Ware, Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson, Kasparas Jakucionis, Omar Ballo, Vlad Goldin, Dain Dainja, Kira Lewis, and more. NBA and Miami Heat News featuring Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, Terry Rozier, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love, Haywood Highsmith, Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson, Erik Spoelstra and more. Subscribe for more Miami Heat, Miami Dolphins, NBA and NFL news.

#miamiheat #nba #miamiheatnews #tylerherro #bamadebayo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnthonyD_heat
Audio Podcast: https://bleav.com/shows/bleav-in-miami-heat/

▬ Music Credit ▬
Background Music: Excursion – Po13o
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb3hIl8V_n2JHfLw8b64cnw
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/nickolas_verdugo/

Outro Song: Pull Up (prod. by KENO) – RadixTheRuler
(https://soundcloud.com/radixtheruler/pull-up-freestyle-prod-by-keno)

If you enjoy the content, please like the video and subscribe to Witness Miami Sports (witnessmiamisports) for Miami Heat news and updates!