Q: Ira, it’s no surprise that Kel’el Ware stepped up his game in summer league and that Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson are getting their numbers. But why so little on the other guys? – Greg.
A: From the outset, this set up as a different type of summer league for the Heat, with a focus on the returning players and first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis, and with limited roster openings (if any) for those seeking tryouts. As summer coach Eric Glass has shown with his lineups, getting consistent runs for Kel’el Ware, Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson was the priority. He also played Jakucionis in the first five games (the only player to do so), before giving the No. 20 selection Monday off. With the Heat with 14 locked into the standard roster under guaranteed contract and possibly to hold at that number because of the tax, roster space seemingly is maxed out there. And with Vlad Goldin under two-way contract and Dru Smith expected to take the second of those three spots, the approach likely is to leave one such spot open to competition in camp. It is why the summer roster features so many players with G League experience, more to give them the exposure than necessarily a roster spot. A year ago, the tryout was real for players such as Johnson, Isaiah Stevens, Zyon Pullin, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams.
Q: Erik Stevenson should get more love. He beat the Celtics. The Heat never beat the Celtics. – Allan.
A: Yes, his 3-pointer with 10.1 seconds to play in Monday night’s summer-league victory over the Celtics was a dagger. But as mentioned above, it’s not as if this is the first summer rodeo for Erik Stevenson. There already has been G League time for the 26-year-old guard with the affiliates of the Spurs and Wizards, as well as time in France for the 6-foot-4 guard who went undrafted out of West Virginia in 2023, after previously playing at South Carolina, Washington and Wichita State. He would be a nice 3-point shooter to keep in the pipeline, but anything more with the Heat than vying for a spot in camp would appear unlikely, despite several quality summer appearances.
Q: When is the schedule coming out? – Tomas.
A: Last year, the NBA regular-season schedule was released on Aug. 15. The release date had gotten later and later over the years to allow the dust to settle from free agency, for the networks to know which were the must-see teams. This year, with free agency so anticlimactic, perhaps the release date gets pushed up . . . unless, of course, LeBron James is traded.