MIAMI — The heavy lifting is largely complete, or at least as heavy and complete as it can be for a team hard up against the NBA luxury tax.
So with 14 players locked into standard contracts, the total the team likely will operate with at the start of the season, the focus with the Miami Heat turns to two-way contracts.
With work still to be done in that regard, as the team’s summer-league schedule continues.
Unlike standard contracts, two-way contracts do not count against the salary cap, luxury tax or penalty aprons in the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement.
The downside for the players on such deals is that they only pay half of the NBA’s standard minimum salary, with two-way players for the coming season to earn $578,577.
The downside for teams is that such players only can be on the active roster for 50 of the regular season’s 82 games (and ineligible for the postseason).
Such contracts are limited to players with three or fewer seasons of NBA experience.
For the Heat, the options are ample for the three such contracts teams are allowed, and that’s not even taking into consideration Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg, Adam Simon and the team’s front office exploring outside possibilities.
As it is, two-way contracts can be swapped out among players at any time until midseason.
Currently on two-way contracts
Dru Smith: The 26-year-old guard who went undrafted out of Missouri in 2021 currently is still recovering from the season-ending knee injury sustained with the Heat last November when he mis-stepped off a dangerous ledge on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ court.
Previously signed five times by the Heat, Smith is viewed as insurance at point guard, as a low-maintenance, high-character option.
Zyon Pullin: Undrafted out of Florida last month, Pullin is best known for his playmaking and quality assist-to-turnover ratio, solid if not spectacular at point guard.
With the Heat without a true point guard among the 14 currently under standard contract, the opportunity could be there, particularly if Smith is not ready for the start of the season.
Keshad Johnson: Undrafted out of Arizona, Johnson is somewhat the prototype of the Heat’s developmental projects, a gritty defender with a solid physique at 6-foot-6, 225, with upside on the offensive end.
With Caleb Martin having departed for the Philadelphia 76ers, the door briefly appeared wide open for Johnson until Haywood Highsmith’s return in free agency.
Still, of those currently under two-way contracts for the Heat, Johnson would seem to have the inside track to the opening-night roster.
Holding Heat two-way offers
Cole Swider: Having signed a qualifying offer for a two-way contract, Swider is allowed at any time until the middle of the month to opt into such a deal.
In such an instance, the Heat then hold the option of swapping the outside-shooting forward into one of the three two-way slots currently filled.
More likely could be Swider taking his skills elsewhere in search of something more substantial, having last summer moved from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Heat.
Alondes Williams: Williams is in the same position as Swider, allowed to accept a Heat two-way deal at any point until the middle of the month. The Heat then have the same options as with Swider.
The difference is Williams, with his streak-scoring outbursts in the G League, has yet to show as much of a singular bona fide NBA skill as Swider’s 3-point stroke.
Summer-roster options
Isaiah Stevens: Already in possession of an Heat Exhibit 10 tryout contract, the undrafted point guard out of Colorado State, can be shifted into one of the team’s three two-way slots at any time.
For Stevens, it could come down to outplaying Pullin during summer league and training camp.
Josh Christopher: The No. 24 pick in the 2021 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, Christopher is an athletic 6-foot-4 guard who also has spent time with the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz. At 22, the upside still is there.
Caleb Daniels: Undrafted out of Villanova a year ago, the 6-4 guard had his moments with the Heat a year ago in summer league and training camp. He then thrived last season with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Bryson Warren: Still only 19, Warren bypassed college to play with Overtime Elite in 2022 and then appeared in 17 games for the Heat’s G League affiliate last season. An accomplished scorer, he also possesses a 3-point stroke that makes the 6-3 combo guard intriguing.
Neal Sako: An intriguing 25-year-old big man who has been playing professionally in France since 2017. A two-way contract, though, might not be enough to keep him Stateside, having signed on June 20 to otherwise play for Asvel Basket in the LNB Elite in France next season.
