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Heat move on from Trevor Keels; now eying Mo Bamba?
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- Heat move on from Trevor Keels; now eying Mo Bamba?
MIAMI — A day after the Miami Heat dealt the G League rights to Trevor Keels , the bond also was severed on the NBA level, with the outside-shooting prospect agreeing to a camp tryout deal with the Washington Wizards .
Highly productive last season with the Heat's G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Keels in February was signed to a Heat two-way contract. The 2022 second-round pick out of Duke then thrived with the Heat's summer roster , including a 32-point performance against the Orlando Magic at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League.
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Despite that effort, the Heat instead filled their allotment of three two-way contracts with undrafted rookie guard Tre Donaldson and returning players Vlad Goldin and Keshad Johnson .
While with the Heat G League affiliate last season, Keels in a January game went 12 of 12 on 3-pointers in a 46-point performance for the Skyforce.
Keels at the start of the summer was viewed as a potential answer for the 3-point shooting lost in the trade for Giannis Atentekounmpo that sent Tyler Herro , Kel'el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis and Jaime Jaquez Jr. to the Milwaukee Bucks , as well as the shooting lost with the departure of Norman Powell in free agency to the Chicago Bulls .
Instead, the Heat reloaded with NBA-proven shooting by taking on Bobby Portis Jr. from the Bucks in the Antetokounmpo trade, re-signing free-agent Simone Fontecchio and adding free-agent 3-point specialists Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr .
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Keels during summer league said a goal was to get to Heat training camp and earn his way back onto the roster.
"I love the organization," he had said. "They do a good job of communicating. And I'm all in. They know I'm all in, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get a contract or two-way."
For now, the grind continues elsewhere.
"I mean definitely like I'm human, like we are humans," Keels said earlier this offseason. "I was with the Knicks , was on the two-way, and the last couple years I was in the G League. So I had to regroup how to build those habits again, find myself again."
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Ahead of Keels' move to the Wizards on an Exhibit 10 tryout contract, he was part of a complex Heat trade made on the G League level, one that sent Keels' G League rights to the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards' affiliate.
In that trade that also involved the Sacramento Kings' G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, the Heat obtained the G League rights to veteran NBA center Mo Bamba .
What makes the trade unique is that Bamba, the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NBA draft out of Duke by the Magic, currently is under contract to the Utah Jazz .
Bamba, 28, however, has only a partially guaranteed contract with the Jazz, one currently only with a $200,000 guarantee, a guarantee that grows to $500,000 on opening night.
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Should the Jazz waive Bamba, he first would have to clear NBA waivers and then could sign with any NBA team before potentially moving on to the G League and the Heat's affiliate.
Bamba, whose eight-season career includes time with the Magic, Los Angeles Lakers , Philadelphia 76ers , New Orleans Pelicans , Toronto Raptors and Jazz, saw the majority of his action last season in the G League.
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While the Heat added Nick Richards during free agency, Richards' contract is non-guaranteed until opening night. Otherwise, Bam Adebayo stands as the lone other career center under a Heat standard contract.
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In the G League maneuvering that sent out Keels and landed Bamba's rights, the Heat also acquired the G League rights to Dexter Dennis , a guard who went undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2023. He currently is under contract in Japan, after previously playing for the G League affiliates of the Dallas Mavericks , Cleveland Cavaliers and Kings.
In announcing the Keels-Bamba trade, the Skyforce noted, "Whether Bamba or Dennis will join the Skyforce for the 2026–27 season has not been determined."
The Heat open training camp Sept. 29, still with three roster spots available below the NBA's offseason limit of 21.
The Heat open their preseason Oct. 3 against the Toronto Raptors in Quebec City and open their regular season Oct. 21 against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Kaseya Center.
