Heat put balls away from summer league, but ball still up in the air with LeBron
· Yahoo Sports
MIAMI — The balls have stopped bouncing, but with one ball still up in the air for the Miami Heat.
Having completed their eight-game summer-league schedule late Friday night, the waiting game remains for Pat Riley’s team regarding the free agency of LeBron James.
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The final tally for the Heat in the combined outings at the California Classic and Las Vegas NBA Summer League was a 4-4 record under Wayne Ellington, the Erik Spoelstra assistant who guided the Heat’s summer roster.
But when it comes to the final summer tally for the Heat front office, that math largely remains in the hands of James, who is relocating in free agency after parting last month with the Los Angeles Lakers.
After four appearances over two days at Fanatics Fest in New York, James again has gone silent, as he has been for most of the month.
The latest conjecture has the Heat and his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers as the presumed finalists. For the Heat, a James signing would complete a massive makeover, one that has included the trade acquisition of Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks.
“We don’t have an announcement to make just yet,” James said, as he concluded his New York appearances.
In many ways, James’ closing comments in New York mirrored the Heat mantra he lived under when he played for the team from 2010 to 2014, advancing to four NBA Finals over those four seasons, winning NBA championships in 2012 and ’13.
“Most important is I want to compete,” James said. “I want to compete at a high level. I want to join a franchise that kind of shares the same motto as myself and that’s practicing championship habits every day.”
With salary funds diminished across the league, including the Heat able to offer no more than about $7 million of their mid-level exception, James, 41, recognized how he could sway the championship chase.
“There’s been eight straight years of different champions,” he said. “So everyone feels coming into the season, thinking, ‘This could be our year.’ ”
As for James, he again distanced himself from 2026-27 possibly being a retirement tour.
“I’m just trying to squeeze as much of the juice out of it as possible,” he said.
At midday Saturday, both the Kalshi and Polymarket predictive markets had the Heat as the favorites to land James. On Kalshi, the Heat were listed as a 45% favorite, compared to the Cavaliers at 25%. On Polymarket, the Heat were listed as a 46% favorite, compared to the Cavaliers at 23%. Hard Rock Bet also had the Heat as favorites.
As for the Heat’s two weeks of play at summer league:
— The Heat wrapped up their summer schedule with a 101-87 victory Friday night over the Detroit Pistons’ summer roster at Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus. That had the Heat closing the Las Vegas NBA Summer League at 2-3, after going 2-1 the week prior at the California Classic summer league in Los Angeles.
— In Friday night’s victory, Tre Donaldson, the former University of Miami guard who was signed to a two-way contract after going undrafted last month, closed with 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
“He’s a big-time competitor. He creates a lot of havoc on the defensive end of the floor. He makes plays on both ends. He’s a force, he really is a force,” said Ellington, who played Donaldson the entire second half Friday night. “And as he continues to grow and develop in this league with us, with the Miami Heat, he has a very bright future ahead of him.”
— For Ellington, the former Heat and longtime NBA 3-point specialist, it concluded his first stint as a head coach on any level.
“It was very fun, to say the least. It was challenging, day in and day out. You’re always watching film, you’re always watching the team, and you’re always trying to figure out how you can get them to play better and be better,” Ellington said. “You’re also critiquing yourself on what you can do better for them. It’s all about the team. It’s a little different when you’re in the head coaching position. You’ve got to have a perspective of 30,000 feet above, looking down on everything. You’ve got to worry about the entire roster. You’ve got to make sure guys are put in position to have success.
“And then, also, in summer leagues, most importantly, you’ve got to make sure you’re developing these guys, so when they do make mistakes, you’re able to help them correct them, so they don’t do it the same the next time. But I really, really, really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it, and I’m glad that I was able to do it.”