Ira Winderman: Kid stuff all well and good for Heat, but reality soon to hit home

MIAMI – While summer league can offer a taste of the potential of a team’s youth, it also has to be viewed in the limited spectrum of competition solely against other young players. Unlike the NBA, there are not a series of minicamps and OTAs to truly take stock of the fit among the big boys.

So the last view of Pelle Larsson was a championship-winning shot in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League.

The enduring view of  Kel’el Ware in July was of shot-altering menace.

The reemerging view of Josh Christopher was of former first-round pick making the most of a second chance.

And on it went with the Miami Heat’s summer talent that made good, including the likes of Keshad Johnson and Isaiah Stevens.

But now, as those neophytes reassemble at Kaseya Center ahead of the start of training camp in three weeks , true judgment days almost are at hand, when the work comes against the likes of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kevin Love, Terry Rozier, Josh Richardson, Alec Burks and other veterans who can both teach and school.

Typically, the view with such inexperienced Heat players is the waiting game. Adebayo waited behind Hassan Whiteside. Tyler Herro solely was a reserve at his start. And until last season, was Nikola Jovic even a thing over his first full year in Heat colors?

But there also was last season’s rookie revelation of Jaime Jaquez Jr., who arrived ready, willing and able, an essential contributor for an injury-ravaged roster.

Considering the Heat’s veteran core, still, seemingly, with a win-now mandate as Jimmy Butler stands days from his 35th birthday, the opportunities for young guns could be limited.

Adebayo, Butler, Herro and Rozier will handle the lead roles. Duncan Robinson has a price point and shooting percentage that assuredly will mandate minutes. Kevin Love and Haywood Highsmith were brought back for a reason. Jaquez already has made his breakthrough.

That’s eight right there, as in a typical playoff rotation.

So how might this set up for the kid stuff? Here’s how:

Nikola Jovic: A playoff starter and still considered kid stuff? Reality check: The 2022 first-round turned 21 on June 9.

Yes, a playoff starter last season. Yes, a contributor to Serbia’s bronze medal at the Paris Olympics last month. But still not enough of an NBA resume to be penned in as a definitive starter . . . or perhaps even rotation component.

This well could come down to Erik Spoelstra’s vision of the rotation as a whole. For example, if Duncan Robinson starts, then the need at power forward might not be as consequential for Jovic’s 3-point shooting.

And while the length at 6-10 has its benefits, the offseason’s moves left the Heat with plenty of length, when factoring the returns of Kevin Love and Thomas Bryant and the drafting of Ware.

Kel’el Ware: To many, the comp with the No. 15 pick in June’s draft is to the Dallas Mavericks’ 2023 No. 12 pick Dereck Lively II.

Fair enough. But also consider that even on a roster that did not have an Adebayo-level alpha at center, Lively did not start any of the Mavericks’ 21 playoff games last season and often was used in a limited and complementary role.

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Just as Adebayo was brought along slowly, figure on intense inspection of every early step for Ware, starting in camp, when it comes to his motor (questioned in college), his shooting (still not up to par to be played alongside a true post presence) and his ability to fully master Heat defensive precepts (easier said than done).

Pelle Larsson: While hustle assuredly can get you far with the Heat, the competition will have plenty to say about whether the guard selected No. 44 out of Arizona will see measurable minutes beyond those with the G League Sioux Falls Skyforce.

That’s the competition as in Josh Richardson and Alec Burks.

Again, if the Jimmy Butler Heat remain the win-now Heat, then advantage veterans, particularly when the Heat made Burks their only outside veteran addition this offseason.

In many ways, the post-Richardson, post-Burks, perhaps even post-Butler or post-Herro, days could prove to be Larsson’s time.

Josh Christopher: This is where it gets interesting. Even at 22, the 6-4 guard stands as more than a neophyte, considering his No. 24 selection in the 2021 draft and 138-game resume of NBA experience with the Houston Rockets.

Because Christopher is on a two-way contract, and because two-way contracts can be subbed out at any time, getting an early read on Christopher against NBA competition would make sense.

That, in turn, could make Christopher a valuable prospect for your preseason NBA fantasy leagues. No player on the current Heat roster might have more at stake in camp and the preseason.

Keshad Johnson: While the undrafted forward out of Arizona had his moments in summer league before he was injured, there doesn’t appear to be a fit for minutes amid the current Heat mix, save, perhaps, for an injury to Haywood Highsmith.

Johnson’s two-way contract could wind up largely being played out alongside summer-league coach Dan Bisaccio in Sioux Falls.

Isaiah Stevens: The prospects for a roster spot, let alone a rotation spot, for the undrafted undersized guard out of Colorado State could come down to where veteran guard Dru Smith, who holds a two-way contract, stands in his recovery from last November’s knee injury.

If Smith isn’t ready for camp or the preseason, Stevens will, at minimum, get an October look.

Zyon Pullin: Cut from his two-way contract after an uneven summer league, Pullin seemingly stands as camp insurance for Smith’s knee,  likely to eventually be forwarded to the G League for needed seasoning.

IN THE LANE

DOWN UNDER: With the Heat to break camp ahead of their Oct. 23 regular-season opener against the visiting Orlando Magic, there will be ample time for those cut to regroup with the Heat’s G League affiliate. The G League’s schedule released this past week has the Sioux Falls Skyforce opening on Nov. 9 on the road against the Iowa Wolves, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ affiliate. The Skyforce then open their home schedule on Nov. 12 against Iowa in South Dakota. Heat summer-league coach and former video coordinator Dan Bisaccio takes over this season as Skyforce coach.

KEY TO CITY: With Bam Adebayo receiving a key to the city from Miami-Dade this past week for his Paris Olympic gold medal with Team USA, the Heat center joined an eclectic list of those so honored over the years, a list that also includes former Heat center Shaquille O’Neal upon his Heat arrival in 2004. Others so honored by Miami-Dade over the past four decades include The Jacksons (1981), Shakira (2006), Pitbull (2009), Will Smith (2020) and Conor McGregor (2021). Adebayo was part of a ceremony honoring several Miami-based medalists from the Paris Games.

RECRUITING TRAIL: While Adebayo has laughed off the suggestion of recruiting during his time with Team USA, even as previous appearances have had him linked to Damian Lillard among others, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was a bit more open about such chatter. “I recruited every guy on that team basically,” Hailburton said amid a recent speaking engagement, according to the Indianapolis Star . “Anyone that wants to come join us in Indiana, I’m all for it.” Haliburton, playing a limited role, shared gold alongside Adebayo with Team USA at the Paris Olympics. “There will probably be something that comes out of it,” Haliburton said of such potential future maneuvering. “I definitely got recruited, but I’m not going anywhere.”

STILL GOING: Yes, that was Heat 2014 first-round draft pick Shabazz Napier who this past week signed with German team Bayern Munich, continuing a basketball odyssey that saw him acquired by the Heat as a means of accommodating LeBron James , only to see James leave days later during that 2014 offseason. Out of the NBA since time with the Washington Wizards in 2020, the 33-year-old championship guard out of UConn has since gone on to play in Russia, Mexico, Italy, Serbia and now Germany. Said Bayern Munich Sports Director Dragan Tarlac of the move to Napier. “We found that player who undoubtedly has the individual and leadership qualities that we’ve been looking for paired with a lot of experience.”

NUMBER

6. Days before last season’s training camp when the Heat finalized their camp roster with the additions of Cheick Diallo and RJ Hampton . The Heat currently have two available roster spots for this year’s camp that opens Oct. 1 in the Bahamas, currently at 19 under contract.