Former University of South Carolina combo guard Tre Kelley has been working out with the Heat this week, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). A similar report about John Lucas III emerged Thursday afternoon, shortly before a follow-up revealed that the team had agreed to sign him. It’s unclear if the Heat have a deal with Kelley or are even considering him for one, though his presence in the workouts with less than two weeks to go before the start of camp is a strong indication that the team is at least eyeing him for a job.
The Heat signed Kelley once before, around the start of camp in 2008, but he was only under contract for about a week before they waived him. Kelley, now 30 years old, was in training camp with the Thunder the next year and the Grizzlies in 2010, but he hasn’t scored an NBA contract since, even though a report from 2012 indicated he would sign a camp deal with the Spurs. Three NBA teams apparently had interest in him a year later, but he’s instead remained overseas and in the D-League. He split last season between Pertevniyal Istanbul of Turkey and second-tier Italian team Sigma Barcellona, combining to average 17.8 points, 7.4 assists and 3.4 turnovers in 33.7 minutes per game.
Miami has one open spot left under the 20-man offseason limit, as our roster count shows. The Heat already have seven players who can handle point guard duties, Jackson writes, though that’s a broad interpretation, since only Lucas, Goran Dragic, Mario Chalmers and Tyler Johnson primarily play the point, and the Heat haven’t ruled out trading Chalmers as soon as next month, as Jackson recently reported.
Is there a remaining veteran free agent the Heat should sign instead of Kelley? Leave a comment to let us know.