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NBA Draft afterparty could turn into a Heat case of the fast and two-way furious

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·3 min read

MIAMI – For all that was made of the Miami Heat’s success with undrafted players this just-concluded postseason, at the heart of much of that success was the pathway provided by two-way contracts.

Now that pathway is going from two-lane to three-lane highway, with the NBA’s new collective-bargaining agreement allowing teams to carry up to three players on such contracts, up from the previous two-player limit.

And that could make the follow-up to Thursday’s NBA Draft either a traffic jam for teams such as the Heat, or an episode of the fast and two-way furious.

As a matter of perspective, the Heat’s 2023 playoff roster included former two-way players Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson.

That left Thursday’s NBA Draft as merely a starting point when it comes to the next Heat two-way iteration for Adam Simon, the Heat’s vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager.

In addition to the aforementioned playoff contributors who previously had been on Heat two-way contracts, the Heat also traversed the postseason with 2022-23 two-players Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson in tow.

Under two-way rules, such players receive half of the veteran minimum salary, do not count against the salary cap, can be on the active roster for up to 50 of the 82 regular-season games, and are not playoff eligible.

Where there largely previously had been a waiting game when there were two such players allowed per team, the addition of a third two-way contract could change that calculus.

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That has had Simon already considering post-draft strategy.

“Every team uses their two-ways differently,” Simon told the Sun Sentinel. “And you have to look at who you already have on your two-ways, what their path is like, where they’re going, whether you’re going to retain them or convert them, and then that will determine what you do with your other two ways.

“And like any other year, there’s a chance you use one of them the night of the draft or two of them or three of them, or you use them after summer league or you use them in the spring. So it definitely adds to another layer of conversation and how you use them.”

While the draft has a predetermined pecking and picking order, the two-way period is the wild west.

At times, that has left the Heat zigging when a prospect zags, such as when they thought they had a commitment from Virginia wing Sam Hauser after he went undrafted in 2021. Instead, Hauser joined the Boston Celtics and eventually received a two-way contract.

“You try to look at every player and put a value of what you think you need to do to get the player,” Simon said. “And if you feel like you want to use a two-way, then you have to make that decision.”

It doesn’t mean that two-way contracts solely are for undrafted players. They are available to any player with fewer than four years of NBA service, including players who previously had been under standard contracts.

But where camp invites at a nominal guarantee typically had been the goal of those who go undrafted, there now is an additional layer to navigate for teams such as the Heat.

So when the two rounds of the draft end, the two-way tug of war begins.

“Sometimes you lose ’em and sometimes you get ’em,” Simon said. “Duncan came to summer league without a two-way promise and he ended up getting the two-way during summer league.”

Miami Heat two-way contracts

(Limit of two at any time until next season)

2022-23: Jamal Cain, Dru Smith, Orlando Robinson.

2021-22: Marcus Garrett, Caleb Martin, Kyle Guy, Javonte Smart, Mychal Mulder.

2020-21: Gabe Vincent, Max Strus.

2019-20: Chris Silva, Daryl Macon, Vincent, Kyle Alexander.

2018-19: Duncan Robinson, Yante Maten.

2017-18: Derrick Walton Jr., Matt Williams Jr., Derrick Jones Jr.