Heat Sign ‘Polished’ 23-Year-Old Point Guard in Free Agency

Getty Pat Riley, Miami Heat

Sure, there are some other things for the Miami Heat to consider these days. Possible NBA blockbuster trades for the likes of, say, Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell come to mind.

But the Heat did make a transaction that caused some around the league to take note this week, signing undrafted point guard Jamaree Bouyea to an Exhibit 10 contract, which will give him a chance to earn a spot with the team in training camp.

Bouyea would be a longshot to make the team, which already has 13 spots accounted for, which could become 14 if Udonis Haslem re-signs as expected. But that could change if the Heat make a massive deal for Mitchell or Durant, and wind up giving up three or four players while only getting back one. Miami would likely look for veterans to fill spots in that case, but would surely be open to taking on a development project, a specialty of the franchise.

Bouyea is 6-foot-2 and came out of San Francisco as a fifth-year senior, already 23 years old. Bouyea averaged 17.3 points in each of his last two seasons, and had played well during his showing in the Las Vegas Summer League before Wednesday’s 1-for-10 shooting appearance in a loss to the Sixers.

Bouyea Is a Solid Bench Option

Scouts do believe that Bouyea has NBA potential, and many had him pegged as a second-round pick during last month’s draft. He is an able defensive guard who plays well in a drive-and-kick type of game. His maturity would fit well with the Heat’s ability to develop players.

It is possible that the Heat could maneuver to convert one or both of their two-way contracts (belonging to Mychal Mulder and Ja’Vonte Smart) into full NBA deals, which would open a two-way spot for a player like Bouyea. Center Orlando Robinson was also signed to an Exhibit 10 deal.

“Bouyea is a solid defender, he plays on the ball very well,” one Western Conference scout said from Las Vegas. “Quick enough, not a bad shooter, can handle the ball and get into the lane. He is polished, really a solid bench player in the NBA with the right fit. I think going to a winning program, being in that kind of atmosphere, that would help him a lot.”

Heat Tops in Player Development

The Heat have an excellent reputation, of course, for player development, especially among the undrafted. Miami has given quality NBA careers to overlooked players going back to Haslem’s introduction to the league two decades ago, on to Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Omer Yurtseven.

The limits of that development were tested last season when the team was riddled with injuries and COVID-19 protocols absences, but players like Vincent, Strus and Yurtseven all held down the Heat fort and showed themselves to be useful NBA players after having gone undrafted in recent years.

Bouyea, too, comes in with a good reputation, and with projected deals for either Durant or Mitchell figuring to cost the Heat, at least, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and maybe even Kyle Lowry, plus maybe Vincent or Yurtseven, opportunities to seize a spot with the team figure to open up—provided a deal does, in fact, happen.