After an impressive summer league, 3-point shooting specialist Matt Williams has signed a contract with the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat have signed summer league standout Matt Williams, the team announced.
Williams becomes the 15th player on the Heat’s roster, the maximum teams are allowed to carry into the regular season. Teams are also allowed two players on two-way contracts. Williams is not signing such a deal, for now.
According the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman, Williams’ contract includes $50,000 in guarantees, and could be converted in a two-way deal or a G-League contract down the road. Essentially, this amounts to a training camp contract with a small portion of guaranteed money.
Williams appeared in eight summer league games with the Heat in Orlando and Las Vegas. He averaged 9.9 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range.
He started all six games in Las Vegas with Miami, and made 18 of his 40 3-point attempts (45 percent).
Williams, who went undrafted, is known as a 3-point specialist. He finished his collegiate career at the University of Central Florida as the school’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals made with 274.
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By signing Williams, the Heat are inching toward having their final roster heading into the season, though they’ll still bring in other bodies for training camp.
Miami could create another roster spot by waiving reserve center A.J. Hammons, who was acquired as salary filler in the deal that sent Josh McRoberts to the Dallas Mavericks.
It’s unclear what this means for Luke Babbitt’s future in Miami. Babbitt’s contract expired this summer, and the Heat had been in contact with him and could bring him back at the veteran minimum to fill out its roster. Miami could sign more than 15 players as long as they are down to the maximum by the regular season.
With similar size and shooting range, Williams projects as Wayne Ellington-lite. He has many of the same issues that Ellington did for most of his career–namely, defense and offensive versatility. In Miami, Ellington ramped up his defense under the tutelage of Erik Spoelstra’s coaching staff. The Heat must believe they can do the same for Williams.
Among the other Heat summer leaguers (minus Okaro White and Bam Adebayo, who already have guaranteed contracts), Williams may have been the only player with an NBA-level skill. 3-point shooting is a premium in today’s game, and Miami’s drive-and-kick offense is predicated on spacing.
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Williams won’t see a ton of NBA playing time, barring injuries to teammates, but he’ll benefit from being on the bench and in practices.
Ellington’s deal expires after the season and, with another strong year, could become an expensive commodity. By then, Williams might be a cheaper option.