Takeaways, details from Heat’s summer league loss, as more players head home
Notes and takeaways from the Heat’s 99-90 summer league loss to Toronto on Thursday night at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas:
▪ Center Vlad Goldin, who signed his two-way contract with the Heat earlier in the day, continued a mixed bag summer league, one in which he impresses at times with rim deterrence or nifty passes but also disappoints with stretches where he isn’t nearly impactful enough.
After an 0 for 6, three turnover game on Monday, Goldin was better Thursday, delivering eight points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes. But he was slow footed at times defensively, continued to make some avoidable turnovers (two) and didn’t block a shot until the final two minutes, while having two of his own shots swatted away.
After hitting a three in the California Classic, Goldin hasn’t been able to build on that hint of extended range.
“You see flashes,” Heat summer league coach Wayne Ellington said. “Today, I thought he did well. He had some ups and downs” in summer league.
The Heat could drop him (or any player) from their two-way contracts at any time without any salary cap consequences.
But Heat president Pat Riley said Thursday that he “was impressed with what Vlad did in the summer league. He played hard, and he was making incredibly physical moves and things of that nature, blocking shots and all that stuff. And so now he’s just got to get the other part of his game together.”
But in general, Riley said the Heat also needs “a different kind of big that’s more of a contemporary big, very athletic, and rim protector.”
With Goldin, there’s something to work with. But the ceiling isn’t high enough to dismiss other two-way center options.
▪ Jahmir Young remains the Heat’s most polished scorer this summer, finishing with 30 points (12 for 24 shooting) and 12 rebounds but also seven turnovers, in 33 minutes. It was the third time in four Vegas games that he scored 19 or more.
“That just shows Jahmir’s character,” Ellington said. “He’s about the right things.”
The Heat previously declined the $2.4 million team option on Young but has kept him around for summer league and maintains the ability to offer him a two-way contract, if it chooses. He certainly has made a case for himself in Las Vegas.
Young spent most of last season on a two-way deal with the Heat before being converted to a standard contract in the final days of the season.
Ellington opened the game with Young, Miami Hurricanes rookie Tre Donaldson, Kansas rookie Tre White, Goldin and Louisville rookie J’Vonne Hadley, a glue player who does several things well but is fairly limited offensively. Hadley averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds for the Cardinal last season.
▪ Goldin and Donaldson hold two of the Heat’s three two-way contracts at the moment. The other is unfilled and potentially could go to Keshad Johnson, Trevor Keels, Young or one of the Heat’s rookies, such as White. Miami also could look outside the organization for a two-way player.
Donaldson, the rookie from UM, flashes creativity and anticipatory skills as a passer.
He had three steals and played a very good floor game Thursday, with eight assists and one turnover.
But he couldn’t sustain his strong shooting from Monday’s game. After scoring 22 on 10 for 18 shooting Monday, Donaldson shot 5 for 16 and closed with 11 points.
▪ With Ryan Conwell and Keels missing the final games of summer league – and Myron Gardner sidelined nearly all of summer league - Ellington gave more extended minutes to several rookies.
And Kansas rookie White impressed after not playing the previous game.
“He’s got the size; he’s got the shooting ability,” Ellington said. “He’s got the intangibles.”
White, when give the chance, has displayed a diverse offensive game, a defensive bent and an ability to make tough shots. His 15-point first half Thursday included two threes, a high-degree-of-difficulty turnaround jumper and another challenging jumper. He was fouled on a tomahawk dunk attempt off a nifty pass from Goldin, en route to finishing with 19 points (6 for 15 shooting), four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
White, an athletic 6-5 wing, played one season at Kansas after spending one year apiece at USC, Louisville and Illinois. He started all 35 games for the Jayhawks and averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 45% from the field, 40.3% on threes (much better than his previous three seasons) and 87.2% on free throws.
“I think he can be a three-and-D guy,” KU associate head coach Jeremy Case said two weeks ago. “He can make those corner threes and he can play defense and rebound, which is pretty much what he did for us.”
At that very least, that skill set could warrant an invitation to training camp (an Exhibit 10 contract), if not a two-way deal.
▪ Former Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin, who has impressed at times in Las Vegas, had a strong eight minutes, with eight points (including two threes) and two boards.
▪ The Heat sent Keels home to recover from a sprained right MCL. His three-point shooting gives him a chance to land a two-way with the Heat or another team. He finished last season on a two-way contract and had the Heat’s best scoring game of summer league with 32 against Orlando last Saturday.
The Heat also played without Gardner (who has missed all but one game in summer league because of a sprained ankle) and second-round pick Conwell, who skipped two games in Las Vegas with a hip injury and was then sent home because the Heat said it had seen enough from him in game action.
▪ The Heat, which fell to 1-3, completes its summer league schedule against Detroit at 9 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 10:43 PM.
