3 Heat players fighting for their jobs in preseason

The Miami Heat’s training camp wrapped up this week, as they will play their first preseason game on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Canada Games. There were plenty of storylines to track from their three-day camp in Boca Raton, Fla., but which players will be fighting for their jobs — one way or the other — this preseason as the regular season vastly approaches?

Nick Richards, C:

Skinny: The Miami Heat’s final addition of the offseason — save for the myriad Exhibit 10 deals — was to Richards. Though the 7-foot big man essentially signed an Exhibit 10 contract, as the one-year deal he signed is non-guaranteed unless he makes the opening night roster. Recall, the Heat signed Precious Achiuwa to an identical contract at this time last year, and he did not make the opening night roster.

I think there is a clearer path for Richards, an athletic rim-runner with good rebounding metrics and screening capabilities. But he still figures to be the third big — excluding Giannis Antetokounmpo, who could be a small-ball 5, and Nikola Jovic (more on him below). In 48 combined games with the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls last year, Richards averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds across 14.6 minutes per game.

Ultimately, I think Richards, who turns 29-years-old in November, makes the roster. But he still has to earn the complete trust of head coach Erik Spoelstra and his new teammates. So far, he’s appeared to have made a positive impression in camp.

“Just the energy he brings,” Heat star Bam Adebayo said on what he’s seen from Richards so far. “Extra possessions, running the floor, lobs, dunks — he’s really working on his game behind the scenes.”

Bam Adebayo with PRAISE for Nick Richards:

“Just the energy he brings…extra possessions, running the floor, lobs, dunks — he’s really working on his game behind the scenes.”

(via @ZachWeinberger) pic.twitter.com/voxrtNgq2e
— The HEAT Realm (@WadexFlash) October 2, 2026

Myron Gardner, F:

Skinny: In the most loving way possible, Gardner is annoying; he’s a ball of energy that you’d love to have on your team, but one that you absolutely despise when he’s on the other side, even if he doesn’t put up gaudy numbers. Just ask Klay Thompson, who got into a spat with his new teammate last season. Gardner, 25, made a positive impression as a rookie, even though he averaged just 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds. He shot 48.0 percent from the floor and canned 26 of his 64 attempts from 3-point range.

However, he is playing the 2026-27 season on a partially guaranteed contract. He will only have $500K guaranteed until Jan. 7, when his full $2.2 minimum cap hit becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster. With Spoelstra aiming to mix and match several combinations together, Gardner is well within that mix with Keshad Johnson sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Nikola Jovic, F:

Skinny: While Jovic is entering the first year of a four-year, $62.4 million extension, this feels like a make-or-break season for him — specifically in this organization. He’s still only 23-years-old. But Jovic was a disaster and in his own head last year, and now he has a perfect opportunity to rewrite a few wrongs. He has all the tools to be an impactful player on both ends of the floor, but he has yet to put it all together over a full 82-game season; he has yet to play more than 47 games due to myriad injuries (and being out of the rotation for the first half of 2023-24).

At the very least, Jovic could be a secondary ballhandler and facilitator, as well as a quality spot-up shooter and one-on-one defender. But he is fighting for not only a rotation spot, but organizational-wide trust in the short- and long-term.