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Miami Heat: Duncan Robinson, Yante Maten and Kendrick Nunn season grade and recap

By Tristan Tucker

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 08: Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat in action against the Orlando Magic during the second half at American Airlines Arena on October 8, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 08: Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat in action against the Orlando Magic during the second half at American Airlines Arena on October 8, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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EDINBURG, TX – April 2: Kendrick Nunn #25 of the Santa Cruz Warriors handles the ball against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on April 2, 2019 at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Christian Inoferio/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Kendrick Nunn

Nunn was a late season signing by the Heat, as they wished to fill out their roster to the maximum of 15, and still had a space left after converting Robinson and Maten. This signing may have been swept under the rug by some, but Nunn was a strong player in the G-League this past season.

After a great showing at the 2018 NBA Summer League, Nunn was picked up by the Santa Cruz Warriors, the G-League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors. Nunn was added to a stacked G-League roster, that was equally stacked at the guard position, having Will Cherry, Michael Gbinije, Antonius Cleveland, Damion Lee and Darius Morris, all of whom had some level of NBA experience sans Cherry, who even spent training camp with the Warriors.

As a result of this, Nunn only started one game for the Santa Cruz Warriors in 49 appearances. Despite this, Nunn made the most of his opportunity and absolutely dominated in the G-League. Nunn finished the season averaging 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals. He also finished with .470/.380/.860 shooting splits.

He was a career 39 percent 3-point shooter in college, where he played for Illinois and Oakland. Nunn is relatively undersized as a two guard at 6’3”, but his ability to play on and off the ball is great for initiating offense, and he always looks to impact the game by being a high energy player. In fact, Nunn’s net rating on the season was 12.1, which is not the only indicator of a talented young player, but indicates that he helps a dominant offense, with his offensive rating being a strong 114.1.

For comparison Robinson and Maten’s net ratings were 3.6 and 3.1 respectively despite having stronger individual seasons. This is partially due in fact that the Skyforce were overall worse than the Santa Cruz Warriors, but is still impressive nonetheless.

There have been questions about Nunn’s character, as there have been incidents related to the guard off the court in his past (I am not taking a stance on this or saying what did and did not happen, just stating what may have prevented other teams from signing Nunn), but the Miami Heat would not have signed Nunn without extensive research on him and what he can bring to the culture of the Heat, so these questions are likely alleviated from rivals executives’ minds.

Nunn likely has the highest climb of any player on the Heat roster to make next season’s roster, simply because he was a late addition and has no NBA experience.

Despite this, if the would-be rookie shows the Heat what he continued to show the Santa Cruz Warriors, he should be a lock as either a two-way contract player for next season or an end of bench development player.

Heat grade: N/A

G-League: A

Miami Heat Check Gaming Center HotShot wins Player of the Week. dark. Next

As it stands right now, Dwyane Wade is set to retire and Udonis Haslem may or may not follow. This means that there will be a spot for the player the Heat takes in the draft with no impact on any of these players. Each player will have an ample opportunity to show their worth in training camp this season.

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