Heat sign NBA Summer League standout to contract

The Miami Heat may have gotten a major steal when they signed undrafted big man Vladislav Goldin to a two-way contract. Goldin was among the Heat standouts during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, and now the team is hoping they can strike gold twice. The Heat made a roster move on Friday with the signing of Myron Gardner to a two-way contract, as per longtime NBA insider Chris Haynes.

Myron Gardner’s signing with the Heat on a two-way contract comes after he too had a strong performance in Vegas during NBA Summer League. With this signing, the Heat have one available two-way contract spot open, although the team does have a two-way qualifying offer out to Dru Smith, as per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Gardner played in only two games for the Heat in Vegas at a little over 24 minutes per game. But that was enough to impress the Heat front office as he averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 steals with splits of 44 percent shooting from the field, 66.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 100 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

He also played for the Heat during the California Classic, and had impressive numbers there averaging 9.0 points while shooting 61.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three-point line.

Gardner joins the Heat after a couple of seasons playing in the G League. He went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft and later joined the Osceola Magic, the G League affiliate of the Orlando Magic. He’s played the past two seasons for Osceola, appearing in a total of 97 games.

He holds G League career averages of 7.8 points, 5.4 assists and 1.3 steals with splits of 46.6 percent shooting from the field, 33.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 71.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

This upcoming season, Gardner will spend most of his time in the G League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the affiliate of the Heat. He will be limited to only 50 NBA games, and will need to have his contract converted to a standard deal to be eligible for the playoffs. But in all likelihood he plays out this season on a two-way deal as part of the Heat’s developmental system.