MIAMI — The perception of NBA summer league is of the ultimate open tryout, where the longest of longshots are allowed to dream.
The reality is that even at summer league, there is a meritocracy.
For the Miami Heat, that means specific players will be prioritized over the next two weeks.
With the Heat opening their summer schedule Saturday against a similar summer roster of rookies, young players and free agents from the Golden State Warriors at the California Classic in San Francisco, Heat assistant coach Dan Bisaccio said he is well aware of what his bosses want to see.
“I would love for it to be equal opportunity in terms of playing time,” said Bisaccio, the former Heat video coordinator, who is guiding the team’s 14-player summer roster. “I would love to give out minutes to everybody and everybody gets the same amount of shots. But that’s just not realistic.”
With first-round pick Kel’el Ware, the center out of Indiana taken at No. 15, and second-round pick Pelle Larsson, the guard out of Arizona taken at No. 44, under guaranteed contract, the summer focus starts there.
“Right off the bat, there’s an understanding of the staff, who we’re going to be looking at — Kel’el, Larsson,” Bisaccio said. “These guys are our draft picks. So we are going to have to feature them at times, for sure.”
Then there are undrafted rookies Zyon Pullin, the guard out of Florida, and Keshad Johnson, the forward out of Arizona, who are under two-way contracts, as the only players on the summer roster other than Ware and Larsson who are under contract.
“We have a couple of two-ways,” Bisaccio said. “Yes, we’re going to have to give them a look, because at the end of the day, they are in our two-way positions.”
But that doesn’t mean that the remaining 10 players are cast aside. The Heat typically find more than their share of diamonds in the rough in summer leagues, with recent success stories ranging from Duncan Robinson to Orlando Robinson to Williams.
“We’ve had so much success with guys who haven’t played right off the bat,” Bisaccio said of previous Heat summer rosters.
So while the playing time and shot totals might not be equal, the effort to maximize the roster will.
“Summer league is such a really unique opportunity,” Bisaccio said, “because you are coaching these guys who are going to give literally every piece of effort and ounce that they have because they’re all working toward trying to make it in this league.”
Ultimately, for some it will mean utilizing the opportunity for auditions elsewhere, with it not unusual for players not under contract to change teams during summer league, or to jump to other rosters afterward. There also are ample international scouts seeking to flush out overseas rosters.
“You want to make sure each one understands that playing winning basketball, that’s what everybody is looking for,” Bisaccio said. “I think the most important thing is you’ve got to have an open line of communication with everybody.”
“It’s OK if certain players are upset if they don’t play in that game.”
Heat Summer Roster
No. 44 Gabe Brown, F, 6-7, 210, Michigan State, NBA rookie
No. 57 JC Butler, F, 6-5, 190, UC Irvine, NBA rookie
No. 53 Josh Christopher, G, 6-4, 215, Arizona State, 2 years NBA
No. 54 Caleb Daniels, G, 6-4, 210, Villanova, NBA rookie
No. 20 Keshad Johnson, F, 6-6, 225, Arizona, NBA rookie
No. 9 Pelle Larsson, G, 6-6, 215, Arizona, NBA rookie
No. 17 Zyon Pullin, G, 6-4, 205, Florida, NBA rookie
No. 59 Neal Sako, C, 6-11, 225, France, NBA rookie
No. 50 Isaiah Stevens, G, 6-0, 185, Colorado State
No. 21 Cole Swider, F, 6-8, 225, Syracuse, 2 years NBA
No.7 Kel’el Ware, C, 7-0, 240, Indiana, NBA rookie
No. 51 Bryson Warren, G, 6-3, 175, Overtime Elite, NBA rookie
No. 52 Warren Washington, C, 7-0, 225, Texas Tech, NBA rookie
No. 15 Alondes Williams, G, 6-4, 210, Wake Forest, 2 years NBA
Heat summer-league schedule
(All times Eastern)
California Classic
(San Francisco, Chase Center)
Saturday, 6:30 p.m. vs. Warriors, ESPN
Sunday, 4:30 vs. Kings (split squad), NBA TV
Wednesday, 7 vs. Lakers, ESPN2
NBA Summer League
(Las Vegas, UNLV)
July 13, 6:30 vs. Celtics NBA TV
July 15, 6 vs. Thunder, ESPNU
July 17, 3 vs. Mavericks, ESPN2
July 19, 9 vs. Raptors, ESPN+
(Plus at least one additional game in Las Vegas, based on results from previous four.)
