Conwell’s debut, Goldin growth and observations from Heat’s summer league opener
Notes and observations from the Heat’s 88-87 win against San Antonio in its summer league opener on Friday evening in San Francisco:
▪ Rookie second round pick Ryan Conwell fought through a 1 for 7 start and served up an encouraging debut.
The numbers were OK (21 points on 4 for 12 shooting, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers), but that didn’t tell the full story of the promise flashed.
Conwell played off the ball a lot but showed a nifty handle when given the chance, delivering a terrific pass in transition for a Jahmir Young score and swerving past a defender on a neat move to the basket before missing a shot at the rim. He would have had a few more assists if impressive passes were converted, and Heat summer league coach Wayne Ellington said his handle was better than he expected.
He showed an ability to create his own shot and create contact from defenders.
And he didn’t allow himself to lose his edge after the tough shooting start.
Conwell drained a three on his first shot but then missed six in a row, before hitting another three late in the third quarter. That second three seemed to ignite him a bit; he then hit a driving layup off an in-bounds pass and swished another three.
Aggressiveness wasn’t an issue. Even after his 1 for 6 first half, he drove to the basket on Miami’s first possession of the second half but missed a jumper. Then he was called for an offensive foul when extending his leg on a missed three-pointer. But he kept driving and shooting, drawing fouls on two subsequent possessions and converting from the line both times.
Ten of his points came on four free throws. During the summer league, the NBA is having players take only one free throw except for the final two minutes of games and overtime. If the shot is converted, the free throw is worth three points on three-point attempts or two points on two-point attempts. Conwell made all four of his free throws, including two after missed three pointers.
Conwell shot 3 for 7 on threes, and Miami outscored the Spurs by 10 in his 29 minutes.
Conwell’s strong final 15 minutes, after a difficult shooting start, “says a lot about him,” Ellington said. “He’s a very confident player. To be as poised as he was, he kept shooting, found his rhythm, that speaks volumes about him. He did a good job for his first game.”
Nothing, of course, should be read into errant shooting in summer league play. Kasparas Jakucionis, the Heat’s Milwaukee-bound first round pick a year ago, struggled badly with his shot early in summer league last year and then shot 42.3 percent on threes as a rookie.
▪ The Heat, which so far has bypassed signing a veteran center in free agency, had to be encouraged by Friday’s work from second-year 7-0 center Vlad Goldin, who received a two-way qualifying offer that can be rescinded before mid-July.
Goldin, who appeared in 11 Heat games as a rookie, was very solid on Friday, blocking a shot by Maliq Brown and then blocking a shot on an alley oop.
He drained a three-pointer and delivered a nifty pass to Jahmir Young for a jumper. He made a bad interior pass on a turnover but finished with 14 points (4 for 6 from the field), 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.
Miami was a plus 12 in Goldin’s 28 minutes.
Goldin said Erik Spoelstra told him after the season that he needs to “be a better defensive player. There are a lot of players that can make tough shots. Good defenders always [have a place]. He said I need to be quicker, better defender, off ball and on ball.”
The other 7-footer on the roster, Southern Illinois 7-1 rookie Arnas Sakenis, blocked a shot and hit a jump shot in 10 minutes.
Sakenis averaged 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds last season but was 11th in the country in blocks per game at 2.3.
▪ Former UM guard Tre Donaldson, on a two-way contract, had an uneven debut, with two assists, three turnovers, four rebounds and two points (1 for 3 shooting) in 18 minutes. He delivered an exceptional bounce pass to Goldin for a dunk.
▪ Forward Myron Gardner – one of only two summer league Heat players on standard contracts (along with Conwell) – departed after nearly seven minutes with a sprained left ankle.
▪ Ellington opened with a lineup of Gardner, Young, Conwell, Goldin and Louisville rookie J’Vonne Hadley, who was Conwell’s teammate last season.
Hadley, the one undrafted rookie of the group, had four points, three steals and six rebounds in 23 minutes.
▪ The Heat declined to make qualifying offers to Young and guard Trevor Keels, who finished the season on two-way contracts, but allowed both to play on the summer league team.
And both gave the team an offensive lift, which wasn’t a surprise considering their skill sets.
Young, who averaged 25 points in the G-league last season, scored 21 points, including a three that stretched the Heat’s lead to five late in the game. He shot 8 for 13 from the field and dished out four assists.
Keels scored 18 on 6 for 13 shooting. He missed a corner three in the final 15 seconds, but the Spurs missed a potential game winning three with three seconds left.
Young had three steals and Keels two.
“Both of those guys are about the right stuff,” Ellington said. “I spoke to both after both of their options were not picked up, and they both wanted to come to summer league. I appreciate that.”
▪ Turnovers were a problem all night. The Heat committed 22 of them, including four by Young and three apiece by Donaldson, Goldin, former Indiana Pacers guard Kendall Brown and Auburn undrafted rookie Keyshawn Hall.
This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 9:47 PM.
