Draft marks start of busy few weeks for Heat. Here are important dates, deadlines to know

The Miami Heat’s roster for the upcoming season is expected to be built in the weeks ahead.

That process starts with Thursday night’s NBA Draft, continues with decision day on contract options on June 29 and then gets even more hectic when free agent negotiations are allowed to begin on June 30.

Then, of course, there’s the ongoing intrigue surrounding Damian Lillard’s situation with the Portland Trail Blazers and whether he will become available for the Heat to pursue.

The next few weeks also include summer league action and other important personnel deadlines.

“We’re working now on our fifth iteration, if I can use that word, of building another championship team,” Heat president Pat Riley said earlier this week. “And that’s my goal. I have no other plans other than to do that. We have to see what happens in the next couple of weeks in free agency.”

Here’s a rundown of the notable dates and deadlines to know about ...

Thursday: The NBA Draft, with the Heat holding the No. 18 overall pick in the first round but without a second-round selection, as of Thursday morning.

June 29: The deadline for most contract options around the NBA.

▪ This is the deadline for the Heat to extend a $2.3 million qualifying offer to center Omer Yurtseven to make him a restricted free agent and retain the right to match outside offers to re-sign him. The Heat has Yurtseven’s Bird rights, so it can exceed the salary cap to re-sign him up to his maximum salary.

What will be Yurtseven’s focus this summer?

“I think defensive abilities are going to be at the core,” said Yurtseven, who missed most of this past season after undergoing ankle surgery in November. “Having the agility, I think I’ve improved a lot on it since coming back from injury. Also, the three-point [shot] was a big focus last summer. But I think all areas of the game are open to development, obviously. So it will take a lot of exhaustion, but that’s really what will get it done.”

▪ This is the deadline for the Heat to extend qualifying offers to two-way contract players Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson to make them restricted free agents and retain the right to match outside offers to re-sign them. The qualifying offer could turn into another two-way contract unless the Heat is forced to match standard contract offers they receive as restricted free agents or simply wants to promote them to the 15-man roster.

Both Cain and Robinson are expected to be part of the Heat’s summer league team this offseason for the second straight year.

“Getting stronger,” Cain said of his focus this offseason. “Trying to fight over ball screens because this is the first time I’ve actually gotten hit by an actual ball screen. So just trying to get better at that and just trying to maximize my athletic ability, shooting and just getting more confident on the floor.”

“Basically my body and my defense, incorporating the three-point shot,” Robinson said of his offseason improvement plan. “A consistent and more efficient one so I can space the floor, so I can be on the court with Bam [Adebayo]. Basically like Kevin Love, how he came in and was that guy for us. I kind of want to develop into that.”

▪ This is the deadline for Victor Oladipo to make a decision on the $9.5 million player option in his contract for next season. With Oladipo not in position to enter free agency this summer after tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee in the first round of the playoffs, he’s expected to opt in to his salary with the Heat for this upcoming season.

June 30: Free agent negotiations can begin at 6 p.m. The Heat’s own impending free agents include Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Love, Yurtseven and Cody Zeller.

July 1: The NBA’s free agency moratorium begins at 12:01 a.m. for all contracts other than the signing of first-round picks and minimum deals. Restricted free agents are also still allowed to sign an offer sheet, and third-year and fourth-year rookie options can still be exercised.

July 3: The Heat begins summer league action against the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer league roster as part of the California Classic at 6 p.m. in Sacramento. Nikola Jovic, Cain and Robinson are among those who will be on Miami’s summer league team, which will be led by Heat assistant coach Caron Butler this year.

Jovic, who turned 20 on June 9, was drafted by the Heat with the 27th overall pick in last year’s draft. He didn’t get much playing time as a rookie and he spent a large chunk of his first NBA season recovering from a back injury.

“I think I started [my rookie season] at 222 pounds, now I’m at 239,” Jovic said at the end of his rookie campaign. “As long as I can keep defending other guys and keep defending different positions and keep being fast, I think adding weight is not a problem.”

July 5: The Heat wraps up its two-game schedule at the California Classic in Sacramento with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings’ summer league roster at 10 p.m.

July 6: The NBA’s moratorium is lifted at noon, as teams can sign free agents, trades can become official, rookie-scale and veteran contracts can be extended and the clock begins on offer sheets signed during the moratorium.

July 7: Las Vegas summer league begins. The game schedule has not yet been announced.

July 13: The final day to withdraw a qualifying offer from a restricted free agent.

July 15: The deadline for the Heat to guarantee Haywood Highsmith’s full $1.9 million salary for this upcoming season. If the Heat decides not to guarantee Highsmith’s salary, he would become a free agent. The expectation is the Heat will guarantee Highsmith’s 2023-24 salary at such a low-end number for a player who has the potential to break into the rotation.

While not getting consistent playing time this past season, Highsmith flashed his intriguing three-and-D skills when he did get an opportunity to get on the court. He shot 8 of 16 on threes and totaled 10 steals and two blocks in 161 minutes during this year’s playoffs.

“I definitely want a bigger role,” Highsmith said of his hope for next season. “I think for me, this offseason is big for me just to keep getting better, being more confident. I’m a defender first, keep shooting the open threes, keep developing my shot. Also, just putting the ball on the floor more and making plays, I think I can do some more of that. And just show more development as far as that.

“But, yeah, the Heat, I would love to be here next year, for sure. I just want, obviously, to get more minutes and more opportunities to just show what I can do. I think I really can be a lockdown defender in this league, for sure.”