The NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas, Nev., is nearing a close.
Coming off their first win Monday against the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat play their penultimate (of five) games on Thursday against the Detroit Pistons.
Miami tallied a 100-96 win on the second day of a back-of-back Monday, led by Pelle Larsson and Kel’el Ware.
Larsson capped off his Summer League with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting with two rebounds and sis assists in 33 minutes; Ware had another strong performance, scoring 21 points while hauling down a game-high 15 rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting; Keshad Johnson had 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
Larsson, Ware or Johnson will not play Thursday. Larsson is headed to Europe to help Sweden prepare for EuroBasket, which starts next month. Ware and Johnson are not in the starting lineup and are not expected to play.
The Pistons’ Summer League roster is led by second-year wing Ron Holland and guard Chaz Lanier, their second-round pick who was one of the best shooters in this year’s draft cycle.
Here is our game thread below!
Miami Heat Las Vegas Summer League Starters:
- Kasparas Jakucionis, G
- Marcus Williams, G
- Erik Stevenson, G
- Dain Dainja, F/C
- Vlad Goldin, C
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 4:00 PM EST
- TV: NBATV/ESPN+
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I heard Lillard gone back to Portland. I smell something blowing our way. Could be wrong. Rather not jinx it.
kaspar has a nice handle but not really explosive enough to create his own shot and he gets stoned alot when trying to pass.when dru was healthy i thought he played even better than dav but hes always hurt.so what do we do at pg .tough call but the old expression 3 strikes your out im giving dru one more oppty to stay healthy.im not trusting kaspar right now with minutes.
That was a poor shoving. KJ is really an interesting player. more and more he reminds me on Goran. He has similar speed and craft, and he is bigger.
But I watched Goran when he was around 20 years old. He was far worse player then Kaspar is now at that age. The only thing he did it right back then was his left rim run.
This make me quite optimistic that KJ can be a good player in this league.
He’s young. It took Goran 3 years to become a starter only after a trade. Speaking of Dragic…
From Slovenian media (and what my wife told me) he was offered a role as an assistant coach, but he refuse it. Just too much travel. But he still join team from time to time at practice. He also mentioned that he had some individual practice with Nico, and mentioned KJ as really interesting player.
Lakers were trying to dump this chump on the Heat. He’s their problem. What a waste. 17th pick in 2024!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/lakers-bust-as-good-as-gone-after-summer-league-play/ar-AA1INAMF?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=98c7f64b4e414d7f97841aaeb38516a2&ei=16
I am as worried about Kaspar as the Lakers are with Knecht, actually maybe more so. Both players have been awful in the summer league. I still think Knecht has a chance as his skills are more easily translatable to NBA play. KJ is a 6’5” guard with shaky handles. That’s a low percentage pick, just my opinion. He is young and we need to give him time, blah, blah, blah, but why go for him?, and don’t tell me this time there weren’t other choices.
Furthermore, I am going to lean more into the role of being more critical from now on. We need more discerning viewpoints. The Heat had a good year two years ago. If they have another mediocre to bad one this year (and being in the play-in is just that) then I don’t want to hear any crap about how the team was just in the finals. That argument had validity two years ago, and even last year, but if this year is more of the same, it’s not realistic anymore. The Dolphins were great too, in the 80’s.
And, if some don’t agree, I will still be around anyway. I don’t mind the rebuttals. I like you guys, but I get sick of the false optimism. When good moves are made, like Powell, I support them fully. But, this Kaspar one looks more likely a bust than a winner.
We will see. I expect a Ware trajectory for KJ, no playing at the beginning, a lot of chances after that.
I expect another mediocre year with a lot ups and downs, but I also expect a very different team at the and of the year, with several veteran players gone, and one or two young players shines.
Different opinions are welcomed.
And you could be right. The cool thing about these opinions is time does give reasonably clear answers.
Let’s hope that If we have an up and down year but have made some necessary changes that it leads into next year with more optimism.
OTOH, a significant trade now for a big, plus a smaller trade for a backup center, and we could be in the mix this year.
keshod johnson kj might be more of a factor
He may be a bust.
I’m glad I was wrong.
He looks like a bust.
Sure, different opinions are a good thing. They stimulate conversation. But sometimes you do more flipping than a charity pancake breakfast. Kid just turned 19. He was the #20 pick. He looks a bit shaky, but has shown a few flashes of what he might develop into.
I agree with you on the idea that we have now moved past the point where we can argue the team has been in those late playoff runs. We’ve been a play-in team 3 years in a row. It is time for the next iteration of this team.
think he prefers choc to vanilla pancakes
Variety is the spice of life. But, never did like those round wafers, the black and whites you used to get at the deli on 71st St. on the Beach and they still sell at Toojays.
And you are right I have lacked consistency in assessing Kaspar. I wanted to be on the hopeful train too after his one good game. Turns out that was his only good one out of six. More info came in.
He still has a shot. But, I also think we can all agree he is farther away than everyone was hoping when we drafted him. My question remains, why pick him when this time there were other picks? It was a low percentage move, a flyer when we can’t afford to be wrong. He fell to us because other GM’s thought better of picking him despite his high ranking.
As I said the day of the draft, if anyone feels we should have picked someone else, say so then, without the help of that infallible 20/20 hindsight. I think, however, that you may have been the only person to mention another player. I was entirely unfamiliar with KJ, so I didn’t know what we were getting. I was looking at Drake Powell, Jase, Fleming, Saraf, Riley, Wolf, Gonzalez, and others as possibilities.
I think most of us were. Miami couldn’t pass up a player who has the “potential ceiling” that would make him one of the top players in the 2025 draft. If you draft mediocre, you get mediocre. No risk…no reward. Time will tell.
Hear Hear!
Hey 30.
BTW, several NBA star point guards had shaky starts to their careers. There have been several instances of NBA point guards who initially struggled but went on to have very successful careers. These players often demonstrate a strong work ethic, adaptability, and the ability to refine their skills over time. You may have heard of a few.
These players demonstrate that a strong start isn’t always a prerequisite for a successful NBA career. Determination, continuous improvement, and seizing opportunities can lead to significant breakthroughs and ultimately define a player’s legacy.
Closer to home, Goran Dragic didn’t become a starter until he had been in the NBA for three years.
P.S. Miami didn’t have a good year two years ago. It was the 8th place team (44-38) after surviving the play-in round. Playoff Jimmy happened to get hot and they made it to the finals. However, they were a long way from being a “good team.”
Please keep the comments coming. I enjoy responding.
One trick pony. But with LBJ and Luka playing in his team such player can destroy you.
Summer league is not real test for him, because he cant create for himselves. Playing in the league with those two will be much easier for him.
But he doesn’t belong in Miami, which unfortunately doesn’t have a playmaker to create enough gravity to left shooters open.
Robinson would have done better in L.A. than Detroit.
Gardner and Stevenson only players who had good days. KJ not bad, kind of so so.
Overall, this years summer league team sucks.
Kaspar makes nice play, should have had the assist.
better sign dru
An article in All You Can Heat today states that Kaspar might have a much longer path to realizing his potential than the team may have expected. We need to sign Dru no matter what. But, will he be ready, and will he be the player he looked like before injury?
Miami has offered Dru a two-way in June which he hasn’t signed last I checked. If he signs and is good on two-way consider giving him a roster spot. If not, “Thank you for flying Lufthansa.”
Both KJ’ need at least a year with as much G league as possible. Ballo looks like a handful. 9 points and 6 rebounds in 15 minutes. Not bad. P.S. I didn’t watch the game. Doesn’t look like I missed anything. I think this is Miami’s worst overall G League team in years.
Exactly. The Heat are definitely NOT signing Dru to a regular contract at this point. First, they already have a glut at the guard position unless another deal comes along. Second, past performance is no guarantee of future returns as the saying goes. He has had 2 catastrophic injuries in 2 years. This season is ‘show me you can remain healthy’ time. Heck, might as well sign Dipo too.
I think Dru figured his goose was cooked when Miami brought in Mitchell and drafted Jakucionis. What the Heat needs is another, tough front court player. If he can shoot the 3 even better. Not a softie like Bryant, please. Dipo is looking for a standard contract. I hope he finds it. Maybe the Lakers.
That’s too bad as Dru has ball handling skills that Powell, or Mitchell or anyone else does not have. We still need Dru, if he’s healthy.
We do need the front court player, just like you describe. We need that badly. And, can’t take a chance on Dipo, unless he comes for cheap and is only expected as a ninth man type.
dame going back to portland sunman 3 years
42 million for 3 years, but will miss the first one.
dame doesnt like jewelry i guess
He likes to buy jewelry. $141M over the next 2 years. Are you f’ing kidding me? Plus, he’s expected to miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon. Must be nice. What’s weird is he originally requested a trade two years ago after playing his first 11 years with Portland because he wanted to play for a contender. Go figure.
On the other hand, Portland is now sitting on too many guards. I’m sure Cronin will figure something out.
first ive seen kaspar ever play.looks like a pass first type of pg.think his defense gonna be an issue for him against the pgs in nba.def needs some time in the g league
Too soon to tell. His defense is not as bad as you think. He absolutely needs to cut down on his turnovers and improve his shooting. He’s a project like most other rookies. Being younger (he just turned 19) it may take 2 years.
I believe his defense is the best part of his game right now.
Google article I read said 42, left out the one in front. It makes little sense either way. That GM is like the junkyard man said about one of the kids’ father in the movie Stand By Me, “Loony, loony, loony.”
He’s more incompetent and a wuss than crazy. He keeps jumping when the owner (Allen) says jump. I heard she may be selling the team. If that happens, that spineless idiot will be out of a job.
Greedy mf ain’t he? Lillard now will have a 2025-26 set salary of $70M between his Portland and Milwaukee deals, and a salary of $141M over the next two years ahead of an opt-out in 2027. Blazers officials and Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management are finalizing terms this week.
i know he was a blazer forever but whats the sense of resigning with that sorry org.
He has a house there (13 years), wants to rehab there and has probably given up on winning a ring. HOF and career earnings of $449,910,157 (by the end of his new extension) should be enough to console him.
Yeah, poor Dame.
Not too much to write home about in the first. Or even to write from home about.
the improvement of ware is gonna be the difference between playin team and a legit contender in east.he showed flashes of offense at times.he needs to put up 18-20 pts for us to contend in a weak east
Herro 22-24
Bam 18-20
Wiggins 15-20
Powell 15-20
Ware 12-15
Plus bench 20-30
thats a nice core,need a go to player maybe powell will be it
If you add DeRozan and Saric for Rozier, Jaquez and a second rounder, you have another 15-20 point scorer coming off the bench with Mitchell’s 8-12. That’s a solid 7 man rotation.
Saric, who is a 31 year old, 6’10” PF with career averages of 10.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 36% 3 pt shooting. He could easily fit in rotation with Bam & Ware and would be able to spread the floor.
If Highsmith or 1-2 of the players on rookie contracts step up (Jovic, Larsson or Johnson) you have a pretty solid 10 man rotation.
thought jon collins was gonna be a heater.derozan is a bigger better powell.and we already have wiggins like to see kuminga down here but gsw would be crazy to trade him.after bam ware no quality big.
DeRozan is a team player. He can come off the bench and exploit other teams’ second unit players for the next 2 years. Works for me.
demars not gonna want to come off the bench too much pride for that.herros a great spark plug off the bench.gotta keep ty fresh minimize his minutos.when ty has spring in his legs nobody can guard him
If the Miami trades for him he won’t have much of a choice. Plus, he is still going to get his minutes and be around at closing time (he’s a proven closer). Who knows, after he dominates other team’s second units, he may even qualify for 6th man of the year. Jus sayin.
whos the backup c and backup pf,got to get two of those.depth got okc and ind to the finals
I’m sure Riley is working on it. Not Bryant…please.
There’s a few out there (free agent or trade).
27 9 yikes doesnt look like a repeat
ballos huge 85 guess he played with ware
kasper is aggressive but not to impressive.
This game is going a lot like the first two, with the exception that KJ was very hot from three in the first half of the first game.
this dainga is one impressive specimen.
first taste of heat youngens no ware however