Heat opens summer league preparation in Sacramento with ‘a little different’ feel

The Miami Heat opened its preparation for summer league without many familiar faces.

Heat assistant coach and Malik Allen led the summer team’s first practice in Sacramento on Sunday afternoon with 10 undrafted players who were signed just days ago on the court. Center Omer Yurtseven, who was signed by the Heat in the final days of last regular season and has yet to play in an NBA game, and wing Max Strus, who spent last season as one of the Heat’s two-way contract players, were also in attendance at Sunday’s session.

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The other three players on the Heat’s 15-man summer league roster — Precious Achiuwa, KZ Okpala and Gabe Vincent — were not in attendance. The trio is still on its way back from Tokyo after representing Nigeria in the Olympics.

“It’s a little different this year, because normally we’ll have a couple of guys who we’ll have in the gym that we bring to summer league,” Allen, who is serving as the Heat’s summer league head coach this year, said Sunday. “But this year was just a little bit different. This year our three guys were over playing for Nigeria, which is great. But it’s just different. It’s a lot of new faces right now, which is exciting. We had a great first day of practice this morning. Guys got after it. Last night in our meeting was great. They’re attentive and they’re hungry.”

The Heat will practice again Monday before beginning summer league play on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers at 8 p.m. (ESPN2) at Golden 1 Center. Miami will complete the two-game Sacramento summer circuit on Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors at 8 p.m. (ESPNU).

Without a pick in last week’s draft, the Heat filled most of its summer league roster with undrafted players. The list of 10 Miami signed in the hours following the draft includes Mississippi State guard Tyson Carter, Kansas guard Marcus Garrett, Houston guard DeJon Jarreau, South Carolina guard AJ Lawson, TCU guard RJ Nembhard, Wisconsin center Micah Potter, LSU guard Javonte Smart, Missouri guard Dru Smith, Arkansas forward Justin Smith and Mississippi State guard D.J. Stewart.

“This is right in my wheelhouse in terms of the guys we had in the room,” said Allen, who signing with the Heat in 2001 as an undrafted free agent and went on to have a 10-year NBA playing career. “A lot of hungry guys, guys who want to prove something and we just provide the opportunity for them. So yeah, it’s fun because I’ve sat in their seat and I know what the experience is about, I know what the process is like and you’re hungry. That’s not taking anything from the guys who are drafted in the first or second round. Many of the guys who are in our room, they’re undrafted guys who want to just go out and compete and show that they belong.”

Most of the players on the summer league roster won’t end up with the Heat, but a few could and some may move on to the organization’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Miami’s two two-way contract spots for next season have not been filled yet, with last season’s two-way players (Strus and Vincent) also on the summer roster.

As for the three players on their way back from Tokyo, they are expected to join the Heat’s summer league team in Sacramento. But they aren’t expected to play in their first game until the start of the Las Vegas Summer league that will be held from Aug. 8-17, if at all.

Achiuwa, one of the players on their way back from Tokyo, has also been rumored as a part of the possible sign-and-trade deal that would bring free agent guard Kyle Lowry to Miami. The Heat is considered the front-runner to land Lowry, according to league sources.

“So right now those guys, I don’t think they’ll play here in Sacramento,” Allen said of Achiuwa, Okpala and Vincent. “We want to let them travel, get back and get re-acclimated to the time difference. We’re just going to give them a little bit of time to get back. We’ll see about Vegas. They may get here by the end before we get head over to Vegas, but I don’t think they’re going to play in any games here.”