What will Heat’s summer league team look like? A look at undrafted players on roster and more
The Miami Heat will build its NBA roster in the days and weeks ahead. But first, the Heat built its summer league roster.
After adding UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the first round of Thursday’s NBA Draft, the Heat immediately turned its attention to the undrafted pool of players to fill its summer roster and also find intriguing prospects who have the potential to become the organization’s next undrafted success story.
The Heat’s summer league team is scheduled to travel to the West Coast in the coming days to begin practices on July 1.
The Heat opens summer league play in Sacramento with a two-game schedule at the California Classic, matching up against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 3 at 6 p.m. (ESPN2) and Sacramento Kings on July 5 at 10 p.m. (ESPN).
The Heat will then, like every NBA team, play at least five games in Las Vegas Summer league that will be held from July 7-17: vs. Boston Celtics on July 8 at 3 p.m. on NBA TV, vs. Phoenix Suns on July 10 at 6:30 p.m. on NBA TV, vs. Milwaukee Bucks on July 13 at 5:30 p.m. on NBA TV, vs. Denver Nuggets on July 14 at 9 p.m. on ESPN2, and the fifth game will either be played on either July 15 or 16 with the opponent and game time determined later. Only the two teams that make the championship game will play a sixth game in Las Vegas Summer League.
The Heat’s summer league team is expected to include three players from the season-ending roster: Nikola Jovic, Orlando Robinson and Jamal Cain. Jovic was the Heat’s first-round pick last year and was a member of the 15-man roster this past season, while Robinson and Cain closed the season as the Heat’s two-way contract players.
Developmental prospect Jamaree Bouyea, an athletic 6-2 guard, is also expected to play for the Heat’s summer league team for a second straight year. Bouyea spent most of last season with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, after going undrafted last year out of the University of San Francisco.
In addition, Jaquez, who was selected by the Heat with the 18th overall pick in Thursday’s draft, will be on Miami’s summer league roster. Jaquez is coming off a four-year college career at UCLA.
Assistant coach Caron Butler will serve as the Heat’s summer league head coach for the first time.
Here’s an updated list of the undrafted prospects who have agreed to join the Heat’s summer league team, which is currently at 14 players:
▪ Northwestern guard Chase Audige: Known for his defensive ability, Audige was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season as a 6-foot-4 and 200-pound guard.
Audige, 23, averaged 14.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game while shooting 36.8 percent from the field and 67 of 206 (32.5 percent) from three-point range as a redshirt senior last season. He began his college career at William & Mary before transferring to Northwestern.
Audige’s offensive game needs some work, shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 31 percent from beyond the arc in his three seasons at Northwestern. But he’s a disruptive defender with his ability to pressure the ball-handler on the perimeter and play the passing lanes.
▪ Villanova guard Caleb Daniels: An older undrafted prospect at 24 years old who began his college career at Tulane before transferring to Villanova prior to the 2019-20 season.
Daniels, listed at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, averaged 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 75 of 226 (33.2 percent) from three-point range last season for Villanova. He shot 35.7 percent from deep in his three seasons at Villanova.
Daniels, who was the valedictorian of the 2017 graduating class at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, was forced to avoid basketball activities for five months during the 2021 offseason because of myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart) after a battle with COVID-19.
▪ Georgia Tech wing Ja’von Franklin: Another older undrafted talent at 24 years old who spent two college seasons at Auburn before transferring to South Alabama for one season and then playing his final college season at Georgia Tech. Franklin began his college career at Holmes Community College.
At 6-foot-7 and 214 pounds, Franklin averaged 9.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 59 percent from the field last season at Georgia Tech. But the three-pointer is not a big part of his offensive game yet, as Franklin shot just 0 of 3 from three-point range last season.
Franklin earned some votes for the ACC All-Defensive team last season.
▪ Utah State forward Taylor Funk: A three-point shooter who stands at 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds.
After spending the first five seasons of his college career at St. Joseph’s, the 25-year-old Funk averaged 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 81 of 219 (37 percent) from three-point range last season at Utah State.
During Funk’s six college seasons, he shot 358 of 1,004 (35.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
▪ Marist center Patrick Gardner: At 6-foot-11 and 245 pounds, the 24-year-old Gardner began his college career in 2017 at Nassau Community College. He then transferred to Saint Michael’s before spending his final college season at Marist.
Gardner averaged 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, two assists and one block per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field as a redshirt senior last season. He also has three-point range, shooting 57 of 149 (38.7 percent) from deep last season.
In his lone season at Marist, Gardner was named First Team NABC All-District, Second Team All-MAAC, Second Team All-Met Basketball Writers Association, and to the MAAC All-Championship Team. He ranked in the MAAC’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, blocked shots, and three-point percentage.
▪ Western Illinois guard Trenton Massner: A talented offensive player who averaged 19 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from three-point range at Western Illinois last season. Massner closed second in the Summit League in scoring and first in assists per game.
Massner, 23, began his college career at Southeastern Community College in Iowa before transferring to Northwestern State for two season and then spending the last two seasons with Western Illinois.
Massner (listed at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds) set a single-game program record for points in a game this past season, scoring 46 vs. North Dakota on Jan. 23.
▪ USC forward Drew Peterson: At 6-foot-9, Peterson played as a big guard in college. He began his college career at Rice before spending the last three seasons at USC.
Peterson, 23, averaged 14 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 42 of 116 (36.2 percent) from three-point range as a redshirt senior last season. He shot a solid 126 of 326 (38.7 percent) from beyond the arc during his three seasons at USC.
Peterson was named All-Pac-12 First Team in each of the last two seasons.
▪ Washington State guard Justin Powell: An intriguing undrafted prospect who is known as a very good three-point shooter with size at 6-foot-6.
Powell shot an impressive 121 of 289 (41.9 percent) from three-point range in his three college seasons for three different programs. He spent his freshman season at Auburn, his sophomore season at Tennessee and junior season at Washington State.
Powell, 22, averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 78 of 183 (42.6 percent) from beyond the arc as a junior last season. But he shot just 44 of 116 (37.9 percent) on two-pointers.
▪ Wake Forest guard Alondes Williams: Went undrafted in 2022 and spent this past season with the Brooklyn Nets’ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.
Williams, who turned 24 on June 19, averaged 13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, three assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 39 of 103 (37.9 percent) from three-point range in 24 G League games last season.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Williams was named the ACC Player of the Year in his final college season in 2021-22.
This story was originally published June 28, 2023 at 4:40 PM.
