If there’s areas of the Heat organization that need more praise, it’s the player development and scouting departments. Over the past decade, the Heat have excelled at turning second-round picks and undrafted players into key rotational pieces. Hassan Whiteside went from a G-League afterthought to a max contract player. Josh Richardson went from a second-round pick to an essential asset in the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade. Duncan Robinson went from an undrafted player to a $20M man. Players who were once thought to have little potential seem to thrive in Miami’s system.
This season has been no different, with the Heat getting solid contributors out of three undrafted players. Gabe Vincent, Omer Yurtseven, and Max Strus have all provided significant minutes to the Heat bench. In a season filled with multiple injuries and COVID outbreaks, Miami needed their young players to step up in big moments. They not only did that, but also proved that they deserve a spot on this Heat team for the long term.
Due to injuries to both Bam Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon, Yurtseven was thrown into a starting role for a short period of time. In 13 games as a starter, Yurtseven averaged 13.9 points and 13.9 rebounds, along with converting 54.5% of his shot attempts. He proved to be more than adequate in this role, potentially paving the way for a bigger role with Miami in the future. When it comes to Strus, this isn’t his first season with the Heat. He appeared in 39 games for the Heat last season, albeit in limited minutes. This season, he’s evolved into the second best shooter on the team. In 9 games as a starter this season, Strus averaged 17.9 points and shot 44.6% from beyond the arc on 10 attempts. This type of consistency has been extremely helpful, especially in the wake of an up-and-down season from Duncan Robinson.
Finally, we have Gabe Vincent, who’s also been asked to step up when Kyle Lowry was out for an extended period of time. He’s been pushed into a starting situation more than the other two, with 19 games played as a starter. In those 19 games, Vincent averaged 12.8 points, 4.7 assists, and shot 39.1% from three on 6.7 attempts. If history is any indicator, this won’t be the last time the Heat produce role players seemingly out of nowhere.
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