Heat adds Oakland University rookie, nears training camp roster limit
The Heat hasn’t added any new players with NBA resumes so far this offseason, but Miami already is closing in on the maximum number of players permitted under contract.
Oakland University rookie forward Jamal Cain on Friday became Miami’s 18th signed player, leaving Miami two below the maximum 20 players that teams are permitted to have under contract (beyond summer league) during the offseason and training camp.
Udonis Haslem is expected to fill one of those two open spots.
Cain signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which comes with a small financial guarantee and an invitation to training camp.
Cain, 6-7, missed time in Summer League because of COVID-19 but has appeared in three games and is averaging 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.33 steals and 1.0 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field and 70 percent from the foul line.
“He’s got great energy, got great bounce,” said Heat assistant coach Malik Allen, who is coaching the Heat’s summer league team in Las Vegas. “He’s a great kid. He just wants to try to do anything we can the right way.”
Cain was forced to isolate in a San Francisco hotel because of COVID-19 before re-joining the Heat summer league team in Las Vegas.
“Well, to start off, man, those six days were probably the longest six days I think I ever experienced,” he said this week. “But to find out that I had COVID was heartbreaking for me because I was just so excited to be out here and hoop with these guys. But things happen. You got to deal with it, you got to find a way to get better from it.
“It felt good. Just getting back out there with my teammates is an unbelievable opportunity for me and I just want to showcase what I can do, man. Those six days were long. I’m just happy to be here.”
Cain played five college seasons, with the first four coming at Marquette before finishing his collegiate career at Oakland.
He averaged 19.9 points on 49.9 percent shooting from the field and 84.1 percent shooting from the foul line and added 10.2 rebounds per game last season with Oakland and was named the 2021-22 Horizon League Co-Player of the Year. Cain transferred to Oakland in part to be closer to his hometown of Pontiac, Michigan.
Before that, he averaged 5.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 18.3 minutes per game at Marquette; he started 30 games in four years, including 26 in his final season.
Cain said the Heat “like how I can guard multiple positions, the way I can defend, the way I can rebound, the way I can kind of be all over the floor. Just play to my strengths, trying to be athletic on the rim, trying to take advantage of mismatches and stuff like that.”
Cain said he spoke with former Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, another former Oakland University player, “about like how it is and what I need to do in order to be successful here. He told me a lot.”
Cain joins center Orlando Robinson and guard Jamaree Bouyea as summer league players signed by Miami to Exhibit 10 contracts this month.
Exhibit 10 deals do not count against the salary cap or hard cap and can be converted to a two-way contract or standard one-year minimum contract prior to the start of the regular season. In addition, Exhibit 10 contracts can pay the player from $5,000 to $50,000 if they are waived by their respective NBA team and then move on to that team’s G League affiliate and stay there at least 60 days.
Guards Mychal Mulder and Javonte Smart currently hold the Heat’s two two-way contracts, but they can be waived and replaced at any time.
Meanwhile, on a far grander scale, the Heat has continued efforts to acquire Brooklyn forward Kevin Durant and Utah guard Donovan Mitchell, but those efforts so far have been fruitless.
ESPN reported Friday that the Nets - dissatisfied with offers for Durant - may be inclined to keep Durant. Multiple reports say the Knicks are the front-runner to land Mitchell.
The Heat wraps up Summer League play with games at 10 p.m. Friday against Toronto and 11 p.m. Saturday against the Clippers, both on NBA TV.
Here’s my Friday piece comparing Tyler Herro and Donovan Mitchell.
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 5:43 PM.
