Exploring who grabs the Heat's final roster spots

This question is so important because it is widely speculated that they will keep the 15th roster spot vacant . The 13th spot is rumored to be allocated to Thompson, the Mavericks sharpshooter that may be bought out in the near future. This is based on the Heat’s current financial situation after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo which hard capped them at the first apron. I wrote an article about where rookie Ryan Conwell fits into the mix. You can view that here.

The Roster

Guards

Davion Mitchell, Dru Smith, Pelle Larrson, Ryan Conwell

Wings

Andrew Wiggins, Tim Hardaway Jr., Simone Fontecchio, Myron Gardner,

Bigs

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Bobby Portis, Nikola Jovic

The Two Ways

That is the twelve that are written in stone at this point. That leaves free agents, potential trades and two-way guys who could earn a standard contract. Let’s start with the two ways guys first. The player with the cleanest path to contributing is Vlad Goldin.

Vlad Goldin

Vlad is a true seven-footer that proved he could block shots in summer league. He was also strong at finishing when he was able to get a head of steam and get off the floor. The issue with his play has been his lack of footspeed. The lack of vertical pop, poor touch around the rim and mediocre rebounding. I just don’t see how Miami could give him a standard contract when I believe there are better two-way bigs to steal off other teams.

Tre Donaldson

Tre was a true leader during his college career and throughout the summer league. He got everyone involved playing into whatever the team needed at that time. He was able to handle ball pressure. He got downhill in the half court, has a nice floater in the lane, and a good pull up middy jumper. His three balls were solid at 43.8%, but the biggest thing was his 94 feet of defensive ball pressure regardless of who he was up against. The question you must ask yourself is why give him a standard contract when you still have Davion Mitchell, Dru Smith and Ryan Conwell. They are all shorter guards that will all get playing time. You can keep him stashed in Sioux falls if you need him to play stretches of the season.

The last two way

Tre White

I don’t see how you leave Tre White off this team. He is a 6’7 bundle of energy. He defends, knocks down shots from deep at 40% good for 5th on the summer league team. He is dynamic on fast breaks. He also rebounds extremely well for a wing. He out rebounded Vlad for most of the summer league. He makes the right pass and keeps the ball moving. He had the highest win shares on the team. He rarely ever turns the ball over. He likely won’t get out of the building.

Who gets the 13th spot

Those are two extremely strong candidates, but could Keshad Johnson could circle back to the roster to play a small ball big now that head coach Erik Spolstra has two monster front line player in Giannis and Bam Adebayo. It is something to consider. He was around the team in Las Vegas during summer league. I saw it with my own eyes. I just don’t see the fit. He is very athletic, but the shooting never came around, the ball handling never improved, and the defense wasn’t what I expected. My instincts tell me the 13th spot will be occupied by someone not on the roster that gets bought out.

We can't forget about Trevor Keels because he played outstanding in summer league. He made big strides compared to last season and developed in the Heat's system. A big body wing that can really shoot the lights out. He was held out the last few games in Las Vegas along with Tre White. Those are great signs that if the Heat can't find a good deal for a vet as a free agent. These two could be in line to snag a spot.

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