Summer League Notes: Heat, Slawson, Celtics, Clifford
The Heat are generally considered one of the best teams at unearthing and developing young talent. With a suddenly very expensive roster, the need to find hidden gems has become more important than ever. Luckily, they came away quite impressed with their second-round pick from the 2026 draft, Ryan Conwell, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
Conwell played in four total Summer League games between the California Classic and Las Vegas and showed his unwavering confidence as a shooter, attempting 36 threes in that time, though he only hit 11 of them. It wasn’t just his shooting that impressed Summer League coach Wayne Ellington, though.
“Defensively, he competes his butt off,” Ellington said. “And then, obviously, offensively he’s a force and he makes tough shots. He makes plays for others. He has a very strong offensive game and it’s only going to continue to grow.”
Trevor Keels and Jahmir Young, two unrestricted free agent guards, both had strong performances and remain eligible for two-way contracts, while Vladislav Goldin and Tre Donaldson were able to secure two-way deals this offseason.
Meanwhile, undrafted wing Tre White was one of the standouts on Miami’s roster, averaging 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in Las Vegas while hitting 40% of his threes. Chiang notes that he could be a candidate for a two-way or Exhibit 10 contract.
“He’s got all the intangibles,” Ellington said of White. “He’s got size. He’s got the shooting ability. He’s got the IQ. So, he’s a guy that is going to continue to get better. He showed some flashes as well during the summer league, and I look forward to seeing what he can do in the future.”
We have more from around Summer League:
- Two-way restricted free agent Jalen Slawson had an eventful Summer League for the Pacers, leading the team in both points (20.8) and blocks (3.2) per game, despite hitting just 29.0% of his threes. His penultimate game provided the full Slawson experience, Dustin Dopirak writes for the Indianapolis Star, with big mistakes and even bigger recoveries. In his final game, he finished with 22 points and four blocks and continued to show the outline of an NBA rotation wing, according to Akeem Glaspie of the Star. The highs he shows will make it hard for the Pacers to part with him, despite some glaring weaknesses as well.
- The Celtics came into the summer festivities with four featured players: Hugo Gonzalez, Chris Cenac Jr., Dillon Mitchell, and Amari Williams. The former three clearly improved their stock, while Williams’ stayed relatively stable, Souichi Terada writes for MassLive. Meanwhile, John Tonje, who spent most of last season on a two-way contract, played well enough to at least be in the conversation for a coveted two-way spot for next year.
- Nique Clifford didn’t have eye-popping stats for the Kings this summer, but he worked on improving as a leader for the less experienced players on the roster, he said to Sean Cunningham of KCRA News (Twitter video link). “I would say just more assertiveness, being aggressive, not questioning plays,” he said of what the Kings were looking for from him this year as compared to last year. “If I see something, go make the play… [last year] you could mess up a little more, this year being a little sharper.” He also talked about the need to be more aggressive defensively rather than being on his heels and letting opponents attack.
Heat Declining Team Option On Jahmir Young
The Heat are declining their 2026/27 team option on point guard Jahmir Young, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The option was worth $2.4MM.
The 25-year-old spent all of last season with Miami, primarily on a two-way contract. He was promoted to a standard deal right before the ’25/26 regular season ended, but his salary for ’26/27 was non-guaranteed.
After having his option declined, Young could technically be a restricted free agent if the Heat tender him a qualifying offer, but that QO would be worth more than the $2.4MM option, so that’s almost certainly not happening.
According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), there’s a chance Young could return to the Heat, but it would be on another two-way deal or some other type of non-guaranteed contract.
After going undrafted out of Maryland in 2024, Young spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Bulls. The 6’0″ guard barely played at the NBA level and that was true again in year two with the Heat: he received 58 minutes over 14 total appearances.
While his NBA role has been very modest, Young thrived at the G League level with the Skyforce. In 25 regular season contests (38.1 minutes per game) for the Skyforce in 2025/26, he averaged 26.0 points, 8.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals on .471/.376/.815 shooting splits.
Young named the G League’s Player of the Month in January and earned a spot on the All-NBAGL Second Team for his play with Sioux Falls.
It’s worth noting that Young’s option was about the same salary as a player on a veteran’s minimum deal projects to be worth next season. The Heat will undoubtedly be targeting win-now help with their roster spots after agreeing to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Heat Promote Jahmir Young To Standard Contract
April 11: Young’s promotion is official, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).
April 10: The Heat are converting Jahmir Young‘s two-way contract to a standard deal, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
Young will be promoted a two-year contract, agent Scott Nichols tells ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Young’s salary for 2026/27 will be non-guaranteed, reports Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (via Twitter).
Young’s promotion will make him eligible for the postseason. The Heat will be in the play-in tournament for the fourth straight season and will have to win two games to advance as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
A 6’0″ point guard who went undrafted in 2024, Young has played sparingly for the Heat in his second NBA season. In 13 appearances (including Friday’s win over Washington), he has played 55 total minutes for Miami.
While his NBA role has been very modest, Young thrived at the G League level with the Heat’s affiliate team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. In 25 regular season contests (38.1 minutes per game) for the Skyforce in 2025/26, the 25-year-old averaged 26.0 points, 8.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals on .471/.376/.815 shooting splits.
Young, who spent his rookie season on a two-way deal with Chicago, was named the G League’s Player of the Month in January and earned a spot on the All-NBAGL Second Team for his play with Sioux Falls.
Miami created a roster opening on Friday when the team waived Terry Rozier, who has been on leave for essentially the entire season after being arrested in October on federal charges related to illegal gambling.
NBA G League Announces 2025/26 All-NBAGL Teams
Four days after being named the 2025/26 NBA G League Most Valuable Player, Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung has also earned a spot on the All-NBAGL first team, the league announced (all Twitter links).
McClung, who averaged 31.8 points, 7.9 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game on .515/.381/.775 shooting in 29 regular season outings for Windy City, headlines that five-man group of G League standouts along with Rockets two-way player Tristen Newton and NBA veteran DaQuan Jeffries, who finished second and third, respectively, in MVP voting.
Newton, who made five appearances for the Iowa Wolves before joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for 30 more games, registered averages of 25.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 4.5 APG with a .480/.376/.859 shooting line. Jeffries, who had a brief NBA stint this season on a 10-day contract with Sacramento, made 28 regular season appearances for the Stockton Kings and contributed 23.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.4 APG with an excellent shooting line of .515/.436/.831.
Pistons two-way player Isaac Jones and veteran NBA guard Lester Quinones round out the All-G League first team.
The complete breakdown of the 2025/26 All-NBA G League teams is below. Players who are currently on standard NBA contracts are noted with an asterisk (*), while those on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).
All-NBAGL First Team
- DaQuan Jeffries (Stockton Kings)
- Isaac Jones (Motor City Cruise) ^
- Mac McClung (Windy City Bulls) ^
- Tristen Newton (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) ^
- Lester Quinones (Osceola Magic)
All-NBAGL Second Team
- Kobe Bufkin (South Bay Lakers) *
- Killian Hayes (Cleveland Charge) *
- Note: Hayes played for the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate but is on a standard contract with the Kings.
- A.J. Lawson (Raptors 905) ^
- Drew Timme (South Bay Lakers) ^
- Jahmir Young (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
All-NBAGL Third Team
- RayJ Dennis (College Park Skyhawks) ^
- PJ Hall (Greensboro Swarm) ^
- Ron Harper Jr. (Maine Celtics) *
- Alijah Martin (Raptors 905) ^
- Daishen Nix (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Heat, J. Young, Magic
An NBA scout who had been bearish on the Hawks‘ ceiling with Trae Young as their centerpiece tells Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required) that he liked the fact the team “picked a path” ahead of the trade deadline. After dealing Young to Washington for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, Atlanta made four additional deals, adding Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, Gabe Vincent, and Jock Landale as well as three future second-round picks.
“I think they’re going all in on chemistry over absolute talent,” the scout told Sugiura. “Trae was a better player than what they had, but not necessarily a winning player. … You either have to go all in and build around Trae or you’ve got to go all in with the young guys and start to build it together, and it looks like they’ve done that. They’ve made sure that almost everyone they’ve brought in has been a shooting piece, except for Kuminga.”
Besides generating some extra cap flexibility, taking a shot on a former lottery pick in Kuminga, and adding a few minor draft assets, the Hawks have positioned themselves to continue adding talent. That effort will begin with the valuable 2026 first-round pick Atlanta controls, which will be the most favorable of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ selections.
The scout who spoke to Sugiura said the Hawks are set up for “long-term growth” and suggested there are multiple spots on the roster that the front office could look to address this summer.
“You could argue that they could upgrade at center over (Onyeka) Okongwu or they could keep it as is and try to get an upgrade over (Zaccharie) Risacher, with, like, a big, long defensive three-and-D (wing) that kind of makes sense for their group,” the scout said. “But I think they could go either direction there. And they’ll have to rebuild a little bit of the bench in the offseason.”
We have more from around the Southeast:
- The Heat are typically active on the buyout market, but that may not be the case this year, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who says the team wants to make sure it has enough meaningful minutes to go around for its young players in the final two months of the season. That was also one reason why Miami stood pat at the trade deadline after striking out on Giannis Antetokounmpo instead of seeking out a marginal upgrade that would have cut into the playing time for those youngsters, Chiang adds.
- Jahmir Young, who is on a two-way contract with the Heat, may not be one of those younger players who sees regular action in the second half of the season — he has logged just 44 total minutes in eight NBA games so far this season. Still, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details (subscription required), Young has exceeded the team’s expectations with his excellent performance for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League (26.2 PPG, 8.9 APG, 5.3 RPG in 22 games). “Jahmir has been one of the better surprises of the season,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s been playing simply fantastic basketball in Sioux Falls. And then whenever we have an opportunity to see him, he’s just a handful because he’s going full speed. … Our guys are always telling him (in practice), ‘Hey, dial it back a little bit,’ and we’re always telling him, ‘No, be who you are. Be a total nightmare to guard.'”
- Within an analysis of the first half of the Magic‘s season and a look at what’s to come after the All-Star break, Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required) observes that the team still has an open spot on its 15-man roster after signing Jevon Carter earlier this month. Orlando figures to wait until sometime in March (or April) to fill that opening in order to remain below the luxury tax line, per Beede, who identifies two-way player Jamal Cain as a candidate for a promotion.
Ace Bailey, Bub Carrington, Jahmir Young Added To Rising Stars Event
Jazz forward Ace Bailey, Wizards guard Bub Carrington and Heat guard Jahmir Young have been selected to participate in Friday’s Rising Stars competition as injury replacements, the NBA announced in a series of tweets.
Bailey will replace Mavericks star Cooper Flagg, who is unavailable due to a left midfoot sprain, while Carrington will take the place of his Wizards teammate, Alex Sarr, who is sidelined by a strained hamstring. Young will fill in for Bulls guard Mac McClung, who is out with a right calf injury.
Bailey will be part of Team Melo, coached by Carmelo Anthony, Carrington will be on Team T-Mac, coached by Tracy McGrady, and Young is on Team Austin, coached by Austin Rivers.
Selected with the fifth pick in last year’s draft, Bailey is part of a talented rookie class throughout the league. The 19-year-old has appeared in 48 games, making 37 starts, and is averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.2 minutes per night with .449/.343/.708 shooting numbers.
Carrington, 20, was the 14th pick in the 2024 draft. He hasn’t missed a game in his NBA career and is averaging 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists in his second season with .402/.393/.761 shooting splits.
Young has spent most of the season in the G League and has only appeared in eight games with Miami. The 25-year-old is averaging 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists in 16 regular season games with Sioux Falls.
The Rising Stars event will match three teams consisting of NBA rookies and sophomores, along with a fourth team of G League players. They will compete in a three-game tournament to crown the winner.
Heat Notes: Deadline, Giannis, Morant, Rozier, Young, More
The Heat were one of only three teams that didn’t make a trade ahead of Thursday’s deadline. As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, the team has been trending in the wrong direction for two months, going just 13-18 over its past 31 games after a 14-7 start.
Despite having another middling record (27-25), the Heat are optimistic brighter days are ahead.
“League-wide, I think everybody is just glad that all of that is behind us,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said following Friday’s morning shooting shootaround in Boston. “And we can just focus on the next 30 games. We have great opportunities still ahead of us. We know what we have to work on is our consistency. We have a high ceiling, but we need to do it more consistently.”
Consistency was a major talking point for Spoelstra, who said variations of the word several more times on Friday.
Captain and starting center Bam Adebayo said the players breathed a sigh of relief when they learned they were sticking with Miami, according to Chiang.
“Guys got that weight off their shoulders, where they don’t know what’s going to happen to them,” Adebayo said. “It’s good to have that type of clarity. So now we can focus on basketball and try to stack these wins.”
Here’s more from Miami:
- The Heat were one of the primary suitors for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and aside from Adebayo, they were willing to discuss every other player on the roster in talks for the Bucks star, a league source tells Chiang. Miami also had “some level of interest” in Ja Morant, but his maximum-salary contract and injury history were among the factors that made the Heat leery of pursuing the Grizzlies guard, Chiang reports.
- Andrew Wiggins was mentioned as a possible trade candidate this season, but the Heat were never offered a first-round pick for the veteran forward, according to Chiang. Terry Rozier, who has been away from the team throughout 2025/26 after being arrested and indicted on federal charges related to illegal gambling, was another player who stayed put. Chiang hears Miami’s brain trust is still weighing the possibility of waiving Rozier’s expiring contract, which would open up a second spot on the standard roster — the Heat have only been carrying 14 players due to their proximity to the luxury tax line.
- Jahmir Young has been named the G League’s Player of the Month for games played in January, the NBA announced (via Twitter). Young, a second-year guard who is on a two-way contract with the Heat, averaged 29.5 points, 9.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds last month for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s NBAGL affiliate.
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel takes a look at some options the Heat could consider to fill out their standard roster, including converting a two-way player like Young or taking a flier on a veteran on the buyout/free agent market. Pat Connaughton, Georges Niang and Chris Boucher are a few of the veterans Winderman lists.
- For better or worse, the Heat stuck to their guiding principles ahead of the deadline, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who considers whether that was the right call and explores what the consequences of maintaining the status quo could be both now and going forward.
Southeast Notes: Larsson, Young, Bane, Johnson
Pelle Larsson has thrived in a starting role for the Heat this season, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes. The second-year player has made 26 starts this season and the Heat are 16-10 in those contests.
“We trust Pelle,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “Pelle is the guy that we can incorporate him in our starting lineup, and you instantly see the difference. For organizations and players around the league, you want a guy like Pelle. If he gets 15 [points], that just adds to your offense. But you know what he’s bringing day in, day out.”
Head coach Erik Spoelstra says Larsson keeps the offense humming by playing within his role.
“Pelle helps our offense so much,” Spoelstra said. “This kind of style that I’m talking about, like Pelle helps everybody because he cuts when you need to cut, he spaces with energy, he drives it hard, he runs hard. He does all the things that keep the engine of our offense going.”
The Heat hold a $2.3MM club option on Larsson’s contract for next season, which becomes guaranteed on opening night.
We have more on the Southeast Division:
- Heat two-way player Jahmir Young has been named the NBA G League Player of the Week for games played between Jan. 19-25, according to the league (Twitter link). Young averaged 32.3 points, 10.3 assists and 2.3 steals in three games last week for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
- Magic guard Desmond Bane has changed representation, Orlando Sentinel beat reporter Jason Beede tweets. He will now be represented by Glushon Sports Management — the same agency that represents Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner. Bane, who is in the second year of a five-year, $197.2MM contract, was previously repped by Gersh Basketball.
- The Athletic’s Mirin Fader takes an in-depth look at how Hawks wing Jalen Johnson worked his way into an All-Star level player. He’s averaging 23.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.9 assists this season as the team’s new franchise cornerstone.
Southeast Notes: McNeeley, Carrington, Newell, Young, Achiuwa
Liam McNeeley‘s preseason stats for the Hornets may not jump off the page, but he’s earned a fan in head coach Charles Lee, according to The Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone, who suggests the No. 29 overall pick has a chance to be the steal of the 2025 draft.
McNeeley averaged just 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while hitting 14.3% of his threes in five preseason appearances after excelling in his rookie season Summer League. He finished the preseason on something of a high note, scoring in double digits during his lone start on Friday.
Lee was impressed with McNeeley’s approach throughout training camp and the preseason.
“Offensively, he’s really got the total package to him,” Lee said. “I’ve been able to watch him catch-and-shoot, I’ve been able to see him drive the ball and facilitate to guys. He offensive rebounds, and so he’s just another one of our core young guys that I think has this mindset of I just want to impact winning at all costs.”
Having said that, the rookie wing is far from a finished product, and Lee has clear ideas about where he needs to improve.
“The goal for him is just to continue to build consistent habits,” Lee said. “He’s still got to learn to finish things defensively and how to bring an edge and a physicality on that side of the court.”
We have more news from around the Southeast Division:
- Wizards second-year guard Bub Carrington was a full participant in Sunday’s practice after knee soreness limited him to just four minutes in Washington’s preseason game against the Pistons on Thursday, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic (via Twitter). Carrington faces one of the more important seasons among Washington’s players, given the offseason additions of veteran CJ McCollum and top-10 draft pick Tre Johnson, both of whom project to command significant minutes throughout the season.
- Hawks‘ first-round pick Asa Newell picked up a rare start on Monday’s preseason game against the Heat, with Atlanta resting its top rotation players. It was an opportunity Newell capitalized on, writes Lauren Williams for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In just over 36 minutes, he scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had two steals and blocks apiece. His energy and nose for the ball impressed head coach Quin Snyder. “I love the fact that he’s quickly kind of reading and taking a shot when he’s open,” Snyder said. “I think he’ll even begin to understand kind of more situational basketball, when he’s open and (whether) he can make one more.”
- Jahmir Young made it through the Heat‘s set of roster decisions on Saturday and came out of it with his Exhibit 10 deal converted into a two-way contract. It’s an opportunity he isn’t taking for granted, writes Anthony Chiang for the Miami Herald. “It’s harder to stay than to be here,” Young said. “So for me, just every day, just being my best self, being 100 percent and helping the team. “Just being in an organization that works on player development, really works on guys. It’s amazing. It just gives me life. Just shows that I have to keep working.” Head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke highly of Young after Sunday’s practice: “That speed and quickness with the ball, his ability to get in the paint, ability to knock down threes is unique. He had a really good year last year. And then in practice, when we had him in that third unit, drilling against him and kind of letting him do his thing, he was a tough guy to corral.”
- Spoelstra also addressed the Heat’s decision to waive Precious Achiuwa. “It is tough, especially because we spent time with him four years ago, it felt like we wanted to keep that going,” Spoelstra said, per Chiang. “But that’s just where we are right now with the roster. We’ll have to see what happens in the future.” Achiuwa averaged 4.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game across four preseason outings. Hanging onto him would have pushed Miami’s team salary over the luxury tax line.
Heat Waive Achiuwa, Three Others; Convert Young To Two-Way Deal
October 18: Miami has officially announced the four cuts detailed below, along with Young’s conversion to a two-way deal.
October 17: The Heat have waived big man Precious Achiuwa ahead of the regular season, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Miami has also released Ethan Thompson, Dain Dainja, and Bez Mbeng, Chiang adds.
All four players were signed to non-guaranteed contracts for training camp, so the Heat won’t carry any money on their books by cutting them loose.
A 6’8″ forward/center, Achiuwa has spent the past five years in the NBA after being selected 20th overall by Miami in the 2020 draft. The 26-year-old has appeared in 320 regular season games with the Heat, Raptors and Knicks over that span, with career averages of 7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per contest.
It’s unclear where Achiuwa will land next after he was unable to find a new team for most of the offseason — he didn’t sign with the Heat until late September.
Thompson, Dainja and Mbeng were on Exhibit 10 deals with Miami are now eligible for bonuses worth up to $85,300 as long as they spend at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
By process of elimination, it appears that guard Jahmir Young will fill the Heat’s third and final two-way spot, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. The Heat can simply convert Young’s Exhibit 10 deal to a two-way pact and intend to do so, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
A 6’1″ point guard who went undrafted out of Maryland in 2024, Young opened his first professional season with the Grand Rapids Gold, before signing a two-way deal with Chicago in February and finishing the year with the Bulls.
Although he logged just 30 total minutes in six games at the NBA level, but starred in the NBAGL, averaging 21.7 points, 7.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game in 43 total outings for the Nuggets’ and Bulls’ affiliates. The 24-year-old was named to the G League’s All-Rookie team and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.