What to know on Keels: Heat replenishes shooting pipeline. Powell, lottery news
When the Heat invited Duncan Robinson and Max Strus to join its DPOS (Developmental Pipeline of Shooters) years ago, it wasn’t clear if either would become multiyear NBA players, let alone multimillionaires.
Now, 1,351 made threes after the Heat signed him, Robinson is a starter on the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed (Detroit) and has pocketed career earnings of $89 million.
Now, 709 made threes after the Heat signed him, Strus has earned $48 million, with another $16.7 million due from the Cleveland Cavaliers next season.
A year after Robinson’s departure, the Heat remains in search of lethal under-the-radar shooters who might be able to follow a similar path, or something remotely close to it.
Trevor Keels, a former Knicks second-round pick, became the latest three-point marksman to join the Heat’s roster this week, when he signed a two-way contract to fill the spot of Myron Gardner, who was converted to a standard contract.
“He’s an offensive talent,” Eric Spoelstra said of Keels. “He really is a sniper.”
Keels, 22, was once a five-star recruit, Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year and McDonald’s All American, a player so coveted out of high school that Wake Forest offered him a scholarship three games into his freshman season at Paul VI Catholic in Chantilly, Virginia.
He eventually chose Duke among dozens of Division I offers, scored 25 points in a win against Kentucky in his college debut and averaged 11.5 points in Mike Krzyzewski’s final season as Duke’s coach before turning pro after his freshman season.
The Knicks drafted him 42nd overall in 2022, but Keels, 6-5, never gained NBA traction, logging just eight minutes in three games as a rookie. He hasn’t played in the NBA since, bouncing around the G League for the past 3 ½ seasons.
After Sioux Falls, the Heat’s G League affiliate, acquired him late last July, he spent training camp with the Heat and made an impression on the Heat’s scouting staff and front office with the Skyforce this season, averaging 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 45.3% from the field and 40% on 7.9 three-point attempts per game in 35 appearances.
There was the magical January night in South Dakota, when he made all 12 of his three-point attempts (a G League record) and shot 16 for 18 overall while scoring 46 points in 39 minutes of a win against Rip City.
“I really like seeing the versatility of his shooting,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “It wasn’t just spot-up shooting. It was flying off screens. He has offensive talent, and he’s really worked at learning and committing to our defensive stuff. He has made improvement, and we want to invest more resources and time into that development. [He] still has a way to go in terms of getting in Miami Heat shape, but he’s come a long way.”
The Heat has one of the league’s highest success rates in player development, but in the past few years, two-way contracts with another lethal shooter (Cole Swider) and another McDonald’s All American (Josh Christopher) did not materialize into anything lasting.
Keels joins center Vlad Goldin and guard Jahmir Young as Heat players on two-way contracts, which pay half the NBA rookie minimum and do not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax.
Players on two-way contracts can be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games but are ineligible for the NBA playoffs.
Lottery update
Commissioner Adam Silver informed all teams Thursday that additional anti-tanking rules will be implemented next season, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Among the ideas that have been discussed as potential solutions — and listed by Charania — there was one in particular that could help the Heat if implemented: “Lottery extended to include all play-in teams.”
Miami is currently on pace to finish in play-in seeding (7 to 10) for a fourth consecutive year.
Among other ideas being considered, per ESPN: First-round draft picks can be protected only for top-four or top-14-plus selections... Lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date... No longer allowing a team to pick in the top four in consecutive years and/or after consecutive bottom-three finishes... Teams can’t pick in the top four the year after making the conference finals... Lottery odds allocated based on two-year records... Flatten odds for all lottery teams.
At least eight teams are believed to be tanking this season with the hope that it lands them an elite player in a loaded draft class.
This and that
▪ Guard Norman Powell, who continues to deal with a back injury, said the Heat is “going to talk to hotels we’re staying at and make sure the mattress is a little firmer for my back.”
A soft mattress at the Heat’s hotel in Washington D.C. aggravated his back earlier this month, causing him to miss two games before the All-Star break.
▪ Powell, who was a first-time All Star, was heartened that several current or formal All-Stars made a point to approach him last weekend to express their admiration and respect for him.
Kevin Durant “came up and told me I deserved to be here,” he said.
“Even before All-Star weekend, Steph [Curry] and Draymond [Green] talked to me about it. All of them during that weekend congratulated me, telling me how happy they are to see me and the growth in my game.”
It was also meaningful that NBC analyst Jamal Crawford, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year, “walked up to me before the game started and said he’s really happy for me, that I’m really deserving of it. He knows how it feels to put your all into something, continue to work, be overlooked and feel you deserve something but not get it. That’s one thing that stuck with me.”
▪ Spoelstra was encouraged by Kel’el Ware’s minutes alongside Bam Adebayo in the three games before the break.
“At least we were able to get to it and it was successful, so hopefully we can get to that versatility of our lineup when needed,” he said. “It might not be an every night thing. The more good things we can get out of our rotations, the better.”
▪ On Gardner’s promotion to a standard contract, Spoelstra said: “You couldn’t not notice his energy. It’s relentless, whether it’s crashing the glass or crashing into people. It intrigued us to be able to say can we develop the fundamentals and details to be able to harness some of that energy and direct it in a positive way.
“He’s been able to do that. He’s made an impact in the minutes he’s been given with us.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 9:55 AM.
