From unsigned to two-way contract: Does any player from Heat’s summer team deserve consideration?
Players already signed to NBA contracts stole most of the Miami Heat headlines during summer league this year.
From the summer league debut of first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis, the development of Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson, coach Erik Spoelstra’s challenge to Kel’el Ware and an early look at the addition of Vlad Goldin, there were plenty of intriguing Heat summer league story lines. After all, five players on the Heat’s 15-man summer league roster were already signed by Miami to NBA contracts.
But with the Heat wrapping up summer league this past Friday, did any of the 10 unsigned players on Miami’s summer roster stand out enough to warrant consideration for a two-way contract?
After signing Goldin to a two-way deal once he went undrafted last month, the Heat still has two of its three two-way contract slots open. But one of those two two-way openings is expected to go to guard Dru Smith, who has a qualifying offer in place from the Heat to return on such a contract.
The question is, how and when will the Heat fill its final remaining two-way contract slot?
Two-way contracts, which pay half the NBA rookie minimum and do not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax, allow for players to be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games with other game action having to come in the G League. Two-way deals can be swapped at any time and do not come with playoff eligibility.
Among the possibilities for the Heat’s final two-way contract spot is rewarding one of its unsigned summer league standouts or turning to a player who impressed for another summer league team.
Only players with fewer than four years of NBA experience are eligible for two-way deals. That rules out guard Kira Lewis Jr., who played for the Heat’s summer league team this year, because he has four years of NBA experience after being taken with the 13th overall pick in the 2020 Draft.
The Heat could also sign available players to an Exhibit 10 contract, which is essentially an invite to training camp and protects them from being signed away by another team.
Here are some of the top two-way contract candidates from the Heat’s summer league squad:
▪ Forward Javonte Cooke: The highlight for Cooke (6-6 and 185 pounds) this summer league was his performance to open play in Las Vegas, totaling 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range, six rebounds, two assists and one steal in 23 minutes during the Heat’s summer league loss to the Atlanta Hawks on July 11. But it was an up-and-down few weeks for Cooke, who scored just two points in 16 minutes during the Heat’s next summer league game and then had a three-point outing a few games later in Las Vegas. There were flashes of a scoring wing with upside, but Cooke’s inconsistent play also served as a reminder of why he has yet to play in an NBA game since going undrafted in 2022 out of Winston Salem State. Cooke, who turned 26 on July 11, has spent the last three seasons in the G League.
“I feel like I’ve shown my offensive capabilities,” Cooke said of what he wanted to prove during summer league. “I’m trying to hone in more on the defensive end because I have that, too, as well. I’m a two-way player, so I’m just trying to show that.”
▪ Center Dain Dainja: A big listed at 6-9 and 255 pounds, Dainja has nifty footwork in the post that helped him impress as an isolation scorer around the basket during summer league. Dainja, who went undrafted out of Memphis last month, averaged eight points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game while shooting 52.9% from the field and not attempting a three-pointer in three Las Vegas Summer League appearances with the Heat. But the Heat already has a center signed to a two-way deal in Goldin. Did Dainja do enough of the little things that will be needed from a fill-in center to warrant a two-way contract? He turned 23 on July 16.
“Dain, in his minutes, has been a dynamic scorer,” Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Eric Glass said. “Obviously, he’s gotten to the free-throw line like 15 times in limited minutes. I like what he can do offensively.”
▪ Forward Myron Gardner: After standing out with 14 points on nine field-goal attempts in the Heat’s summer league loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on July 6 in the California Classic, Gardner was held out of the first three games of Las Vegas Summer League because of a finger injury. But he was able to pick up right where he left off when he returned, averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, two assists and 2.5 steals per appearance while shooting 11 of 25 (44%) from the field and 6 of 9 (66.7%) on threes during the Heat’s final two summer league games in Las Vegas. The 24-year-old Gardner (6-6 and 220 pounds), who has yet to play in an NBA game, has spent the last two seasons with the Orlando Magic’s G League affiliate after going undrafted in 2023 out of Little Rock.
“Just the way he assaults the paint,” Glass said when asked what he likes about Gardner’s game. “He’s so aggressive, he’s so strong going down hill.”
▪ Guard Erik Stevenson: There’s no doubt that Stevenson’s NBA skill is three-point shooting, going 12 of 24 (50%) from three-point range in five games in Las Vegas. This comes after Stevenson, 26, totaled 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting from behind the arc in the Heat’s summer league opener on July 5 in the California Classic. Stevenson (6-4 and 205 pounds) went undrafted in 2023 out of West Virginia and has spent the last two seasons in the G League. He signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards last season, but he has never appeared in an NBA game. The Heat has had success in developing undrafted three-point shooters in recent years — Duncan Robinson and Max Strus. Does the Heat view Stevenson as an outside shooter with that type of potential?
“Erik is one of the guys that we really like,” Glass said early in summer league. “This is his third summer league, as well. He brought a lot of great spacing for us. Obviously it opened up the basket for us with those threes.”
▪ Guard Bryson Warren: Warren stood out in the California Classic, recording 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting on threes, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in the Heat’s second summer league game on July 6. But that was the last game Warren played in during this year’s summer league, as a hamstring injury sidelined him the rest of the way. Warren (6-3 and 185 pounds) is just 20 years old and has spent the last two seasons with the Heat’s G League affiliate after playing with the Overtime Elite as a four-year high school recruit. Warren, who has yet to play in an NBA game, showed signs of improvement and growth in his limited minutes during this year’s summer league.
“He’s a good all-around player,” Glass said of Warren. “He can shoot it, he can put it on the floor, he can make plays. He’s showing that he can defend at the level we want. So we’ve been happy with Bryson.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2025 at 12:06 PM.
