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The Miami Heat have signed another young prospect to their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
The Heat have added former Houston Rockets guard Josh Christopher, according to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, who first reported the signing.
Christopher was with Houston over the last two seasons before he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in July of 2023. The Grizz waived him on October 1, and he signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz shortly after that.
Things didn’t work out in Utah, however, and now, Christopher has landed in South Dakota, where the Heat have plucked many young players and turned them into solid rotational guys.
Josh Christopher: Background & Stats
A first-round pick out of Arizona State for the Rockets (No. 24 overall) in 2021, Christopher played in 138 games (four starts) over his two years in Houston. He averaged 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 15.4 minutes per game.
His 3-point shooting isn’t great — he shot just 27.7% from beyond the arc over his two seasons with the Rockets — but at 6’5″ and 215 pounds, he’s big, athletic and has undeniable playmaking abilities. He’s a decent rebounder and ball handler, and just 22 years old, there’s still plenty of time for him to develop.
In his freshman season at ASU, Christopher averaged 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 assists in 15 games. He shot 30.5% from downtown and 46.9% from the field during his 2020-21 campaign, which was his lone collegiate season.
Here’s what SB Nation’s Peachtree Hoops had to say about him in their draft evaluation:
“A big problem is that Christopher likes to shoot from his left hip, even if he receives the ball on the right side of his body. As a result, his shooting motion is circular from his catch to his release, instead of straight up and down … Although his handle can be somewhat loose at times, Christopher has a dynamic and fairly complex dribbling package … Christopher is an intriguing prospect because his potential to be both an on-ball and an off-ball scorer, his strength and size, and his defensive ability let him fit in any number of lineup configurations.”
Heat Are Known for Developing Players Like Josh Christopher
The Heat and head coach Erik Spoelstra are renowned for developing young talent. It’s not at all unusual for Miami to turn an undrafted or discarded player and turn him into a solid rotational piece.
Former sharpshooter Max Strus, who went undrafted, signed a four-year, $62 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason, is one example
Caleb Martin, who has started 59 games for the Heat over the last two seasons, is another. As is Heat forward Duncan Robinson, who spent the bulk of the 2018-19 season playing for Sioux Falls.
“We don’t typically have a ton of draft picks. That’s just us. It’s not right or wrong. That’s just our philosophy. So we have to stockpile and develop our talent base sometimes in different ways to fill out a roster,” Spoelstra said in June of 2023, via USA Today. “But if you have a big dream and want to be challenged, we feel like we can be the place for a lot of those kind of guys.”
We’ll see if Christopher joins the growing list of young players take their games to the next level.
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