What are the Heat’s hopes for KZ Okpala in summer league? Also, Achiuwa’s reaction to trade
When the Miami Heat traded three second-round picks to acquire forward KZ Okpala on draft night in 2019, this is probably not the way the Heat or Okpala envisioned the next two years playing out.
Okpala wasn’t able to participate in summer league in 2019 in part because the Heat’s draft-night trade for him wasn’t finalized until summer games were well underway.
Okpala wasn’t able to take part in summer league in 2020 either because there was no summer league with the season suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There’s also the fact that Okpala, 22, has played more minutes in the G League (572) than in the NBA (473) during his professional career.
But finally, as Okpala prepares for his third NBA season, he’s getting his first summer league opportunity this year.
“I think the biggest thing is just to play,” said Heat assistant coach Malik Allen, who is serving as the summer league head coach. “He hasn’t had this experience yet even though he has been in the league now going into his third year. And that’s a big, big difference. I know that for a fact, it just is.”
Okpala didn’t play in the California Classic summer circuit held in Sacramento last week because he had just returned from the Tokyo Olympics, where he was part of the Nigerian national team. But he received his first ever summer league action in the Heat’s win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday to kick off Las Vegas Summer League.
The results: 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field and 2-of-8 shooting on threes, 11 rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes.
“I thought [Sunday] he probably pressed a little too much,” Allen said. “I think probably the first game, he wanted to play really, really well. He was excited. But overall, just play within the system and guys like him, their activity is what separates them and that’s how you notice him. He’ll get there.”
With the Heat scheduled to play five games in Las Vegas, Okpala should have a few more opportunities to put together better shooting performances. Okpala said he’s hoping to “find a comfortability and just find a groove out there. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
“Just him being aggressive,” Allen said of what he wants to see from Okpala during summer league. “Defensively, even in the pockets he played during the course of the year, just taking the challenge defensively because he has quick feet, he has good size and obviously great length. So utilizing that in these games. And then offensively, just continue to find himself. Get downhill and attack, take his open shots when he gets them.”
Despite never finding a consistent role in the Heat’s rotation during his first two NBA seasons, the organization still believes Okpala has the potential to be a quality rotation player mainly because of his unique defensive versatility at 6-8 and 215 pounds.
Okpala has averaged 2.4 points on 38.6 percent shooting from the field and 23.5 percent shooting on threes, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 42 regular-season games during his young NBA career.
“Just find my spots and know that there’s room for error,” Okpala said of his summer league goals. “That’s the biggest thing.”
Okpala already faces an uphill battle in finding consistent playing time this upcoming season, with the Heat signing veteran forwards P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris in free agency. Both Tucker and Morris are expected to receive minutes at power forward.
But if Okpala is going to crack the Heat’s rotation this season, it’s likely going be because of his defense. Nigeria head coach Mike Brown, who is also an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, said this summer that Okpala has the skill set to be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate because of “his length, his athleticism, his size, his strength, his want to play defense and be great at it is off the charts.”
“He just saw my instincts,” Okpala said of Brown’s compliment. “The way I can really get into the ball. He had me picking up full court every game, every practice. I don’t know if he knew I could do that at 6-9. So just showing my versatility.”
This is an important offseason for Okpala because the next year could determine his future with the Heat. He’s entering the final season of a three-year, $4.2 million contract he signed prior to his rookie season in 2019.
“The more court time he gets, I think that just helps to transition him to more of that feeling of being more comfortable on the floor,” Allen said. “He’s trying to figure out his role offensively. Where his strengths really are right now is he’s a great cutter, he’s a great physical driver and just feeling when those situations are there. If not, just get to the next situation and keep playing.
“That’s how it’s going to be during the course of the season. Shot, drive or be a facilitator and he can play off of that. But that just takes time and repetitions and opportunity. That’s why the Nigeria experience was great for him, a lot of basketball there and this is going to be the same thing. He’s going to get a lot of time, and he can just hopefully keep growing from there, which I think he will.”
ACHIUWA SPEAKS
Former Heat center Precious Achiuwa did not know a trade was coming, but he wasn’t necessarily surprised by it.
“I understood it’s part of the business coming in,” Achiuwa said during a Zoom call with reporters on Monday. “I’ve been watching basketball since I started playing and watching the NBA. Me coming to the NBA, I already had at the back of my mind that it’s part of the business. It can happen at anytime, any day to whoever and I’m not an exception. So I was just always ready for it if that happened, and it happened. ... Both sides are doing what’s best for them, and that’s how I looked at it.”
After being moved to the Toronto Raptors last week as part of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade deal, Achiuwa is on the Raptors’ roster for Las Vegas Summer League. But Achiuwa, 21, did not play in Toronto’s win over the Knicks on Sunday to open summer league.
“I learned a lot,” he said of his Heat experience. “Great guys. I made a lot of lifetime friendships, bonded with a lot of guys on the team that I still talk to to this day.”
The Heat formally announced the sign-and-trade deal on Friday, with Lowry moving to Miami in exchange for Goran Dragic and Achiuwa. Although the trade is not expected to be voided, the NBA is investigating the Heat for potential tampering over its sign-and-trade acquisition of Lowry from the Raptors and whether there was any contact made with Lowry or his agent before the start of free agency.
Achiuwa was drafted by the Heat with the 20th overall pick in 2020. In his only season with Miami, he averaged five points on 54.4 percent shooting, 3.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 61 regular-season games (four starts) as a rookie.
It remains to be seen if Dragic will end up with the Raptors, as it appears that he would like to be moved to another team.
“Toronto is not my preferred destination,” Dragic reportedly said on Slovenian television. “I have higher ambitions. We’ll see.”
But Dragic later clarified those comments to Michael Grange from Sportsnet, saying: “My message basically, to all Toronto fans, is: I would like to apologize. It didn’t come out the right way. I know they love their team, and they should be proud, it is one of the best organizations in the NBA. They’ve already won a championship and I didn’t, so what I said, it really was no appropriate.”
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 4:58 PM.
