The Miami Heat are renowned for their scouting and development, consistently building overlooked prospects into valuable players within their system. Both of the Heat's Finals teams this decade featured multiple such players; as they face a financial crunch filling the roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo, finding more of those players will be a major swing if they're going to do it again.
One early success story from this Summer League has been Ryan Conwell, and the team just made a loud statement about their faith in him. The 37th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft was just sent home after averaging over 20 points per game through four Summer League games between the Bay Area and Las Vegas, which indicates the Heat have seen all they need to from him.
Just because Miami's front office and coaching staff are satisfied with Conwell doesn't mean their work is done, though. They still have three open roster spots and two available two-way slots, with very little flexibility under the first luxury tax apron. Conwell wasn't the only player on the Summer League roster Miami has some level of interest in, and they've just been given the opportunity to try and show out.
There's healthy guard competition
Even without Conwell in the picture, there are three guards on the Summer Heat competing for a place in the organization. Undrafted rookie Tre Donaldson is on a Two-Way contract, but he's been arguably outshone by two older players the Heat have had in their system for some time.
Trevor Keels and Jahmir Young both spent time with the Heat last season on Two-Way deals, and the Heat retain both of their rights as free agents. In the team's first game without Conwell against the Orlando Magic, they ate up Conwell's usage with no issue. Keels scored 32 points while hitting six of ten three-point attempts, and Young put up 27 points with six assists.
Young had been averaging over 20 points per game during Summer League action before mustering just 12 points on 4-14 shooting in the team's blowout loss to the Cavaliers on Monday. Keels missed that game with left knee soreness, but Donaldson did score 22 to lead the team. As the Heat's summer concludes, it will be interesting to see which of those three continues to shine and potentially earn either a Two-Way or full roster spot.
There may be more open spots than ever
The Heat obviously traded several of their young players in the Giannis trade, but they were all former first-round picks on rookie-scale contracts. That obviously creates openings on the back end of the roster from a sheer numbers perspective, but Summer League has also opened the door for possible turnover in the Two-Way department.
The Heat's summer standouts have all been in the backcourt, but one of the team's highest-profile players coming in was Vlad Goldin, the Heat's Two-Way center this season. The team extended his qualifying offer to potentially return on a Two-Way before Summer League began, but he's largely struggled on both ends of the floor as a slower-footed big man bound to the rim. Perhaps the Heat will look to replace Goldin with another big man for that Two-Way slot, but it probably won't be coming from the Summer League roster.
Regardless, Goldin's uncertainty opens the door for the rest of Miami's summer prospects. Their last two games on Thursday and Friday will give all of Young, Keels, and Donaldson ample opportunity to impress the organization. All three bring different skills that the Heat could use, so fans should pay attention to who stands out this week.
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