Trevor Keels determined to earn another contract from Heat: ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes’
The Miami Heat took a chance on guard Trevor Keels midway through last season because of his three-point shooting ability. But for the Heat to bring back Keels this season, he needs to prove he can be more than just a quality three-point shooter.
So far, Heat coaches have been encouraged by what they’ve seen from Keels this offseason.
“Obviously, yeah, he’s a very good shooter,” Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Wayne Ellington said. “He’ll continue to develop the rest of his game. Defensively, he has taken a leap. He’s gotten better in terms of his weak-side defense. He’s gotten better there. He’s going to continue to grow in that area like he has. He has shown flashes already this summer, and then his on-ball [defense] has gotten a lot better as well. I think it’s just his attention to detail on the defensive end has grown.”
Keels, who turns 23 on Aug. 26, has been trying to prove he deserves to stick in the NBA since the New York Knicks selected him with the 42nd overall pick in the second round of the 2022 draft. He has yet to sign an NBA standard contract after being drafted, joining the Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Heat on either an Exhibit 10 tryout deal, 10-day contract or a two-way contract during the first four years of his professional career.
Keels, who has played in just 11 NBA regular-season games during his career, now finds himself working for his next contract as an unrestricted free agent this summer. He signed a two-way contract with the Heat in February and ended last season on a two-way deal with the Heat, but Miami allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason when it declined to extend him a qualifying offer last month.
Despite not getting a qualifying offer from the Heat, Keels still decided to play for Miami’s summer league team this year.
“I don’t take it to heart. It’s the business,” said Keels, who’s eligible for a two-way contract for just one more NBA season. “I know what I got. I know what I can do. I’m happy they gave me an opportunity to play in the summer league. The last couple of summer leagues, I didn’t really get the opportunity to play. I was just kind of on the bench, so now that I get to play, I’m just going to show them what I can do. And I’m going to earn a two-way back or earn a contract back. I don’t look into it as this team did me this way, did me that way. I love the organization. They do a good job of communicating, and I’m all in. They know I’m all in, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get a contract or a two-way.”
Keels made a strong case for a contract during the Heat’s 93-88 summer league loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday, a result that dropped Miami to 1-1 in Las Vegas Summer League.
With guards Ryan Conwell and Tre Donaldson given the day off, Keels stepped into a bigger role to total a game-high 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in Saturday’s defeat.
“Just showing them that I’m progressing this summer, that I got better,” Keels said of what he wants to show the Heat during summer league. “Just showing them I can play defense, I can rebound. [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra] and the guys know I can shoot the ball. Now it’s just doing other things. Playing that Miami Heat defense, that tenacity, just getting under guys, just being a pest. I think that’s what I’m showing out here.”
Keels, a big guard at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, believes he’s grown enough in the Heat’s developmental program that he “can guard one through five.”
“Just showing them I have an all-around game, versatility, and it’s on offense and defense,” Keels continued on what he wants to show the Heat this summer. “Not just offense. I think just continuing to show them I can guard one through five. I can guard anybody. I can be on the help side. Just showing them everything they want to see. I think that’s what’s going to help me.”
The Heat, which will play its third of at least five Las Vegas Summer League games on Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers at UNLV’s Pavilion (8 p.m. on WPLG Local 10 and Prime Video), currently has two open two-way contract roster spots and three open standard roster spots.
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 out at any time
“I’m just showing what I worked on out there,” said Keels, who shot 40.2% on 8.3 three-point attempts per game with the Heat’s G League affiliate (the Sioux Falls Skyforce) last season. “I hope I’m making the coaches proud with my work.”
Keels made headlines with the Skyforce last season, finishing a win with 46 points on 16-of-18 shooting from the field and 12-of-12 shooting from three-point range. The performance set a new NBA G League single-game record for the most three-pointers made without a miss and tied the Skyforce franchise record for made three-pointers in a game.
But Keels is working this offseason to show there’s more to his game than just outside shooting.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement,” Ellington said of Keels, “and I know he’s going to continue to improve.”
This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 2:48 PM.
