Miami Heat Sign Summer League Standout To Two-Way Contract

The 24 year-old was a Summer League standout, averaging 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.7 steals in his four showings, converting on half of his overall shot attempts, 61 percent of his threes and 100 percent of his free throws.

The Heat gave him a two-year two-way contract, granting both parties security and flexibility. Now, the Heat have two of their two-way spots filled, as they have already signed Vladislav Goldin to one, with guard Dru Smith a potential candidate for the final spot.

For the past two seasons, Gardner has been playing for the G League's Osceola Magic. In 2024-2025, Gardner was a bigger part of the team's 22-12 season, good for the first seed in their conference, averaging 12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals. He converted on 52.5 percent of his field goals, 38.2 percent of his threes and 78.4 percent of his free throws.

Collegiately, Gardner played one season at Georgetown and two for Arkansas. In his final season in 2022-2023, he averaged 13.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals, converting on 42 percent of his shots, 35.6 percent of his threes and 75.5 percent of his 4.6 free throws per game.

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Despite an up-and-down Summer League showing overall, the buzz around Miami Heat rookie Kasparas Jakučionis remains true. ESPN's Jeremy Woo recently surveyed various NBA scouts and executives, with two of them voting the Heat's first round pick as the rookie to come out as the biggest draft steal.

Jakucionis surprisingly fell to the 20th pick in the draft in late June after being evaluated as a sure-fire lottery talent over the past year. His place on mock drafts gradually declined after midseason wrist and forearm injuries brought down his efficiency.

He averaged 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 33 games for the 22-13 Illinois Fighting Illini in the 2024-2025 season.

At Vegas Summer League, the 19 year-old averaged 15.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.7 steals, converting on 45 percent of his field goals, 35 percent of his threes and 100 percent of his free throws.

He struggled mightily on offense during the earlier California Classic portion of Summer League, where he only made one field goal despite flashing playmaking and defensive positives while playing more of a combo guard role.