4 Role players who need a big training camp for the Heat

Orlando Robinson

Orlando Robinson had a phenomenal summer league, averaging 26 points, nine boards, and shooting 35% from 3, and making the summer league’s first team.

Robinson saw real minutes as a backup center last year when Dewayne Dedmon was struggling and looked solid. He needed to clean up his shooting around the rim and stay consistent on defense, but overall he looked like another solid pick-up.

Now he looks like he’s ready to earn real backup minutes behind Adebayo. If the shooting can stay consistent and he can remain a threatening shot blocker, Robinson could be on the second-string center.

There’s an assumption that newly-signed Thomas Bryant already has the job, but this should be considered an open competition. Bryant is a fine player but he’s failed to latch on to any team during his career. Last season with the Nuggets, coach Michael Malone ended up favoring veterans Deandre Jordan and Jeff Green while Bryant found himself out of the playoff rotation.

This isn’t a knock on Bryant, but rather an acknowledgment that nothing is certain. The Heat don’t play players based on contracts and will go with whichever center is playing the best. It should be fun to see who between Robinson and Bryant can earn that spot.