The Miami Heat are already making preparations for the 2025-26 season. On Friday, June 27, the Heat signed undrafted forward Steve Settle III to an Exhibit 10 contract.
By joining the Heat on an Exhibit 10, Settle will team up with Miami throughout their preseason preparations. He will be present for the training camp and their preseason schedule. Miami can decide whether to convert Settle into a two-way contract or allow him to hit the free agency market.
“I don’t know what to expect,” Settle said. “…It’s kind of your life can change at any phone call. I know my agent is working hard for me. I know I’ve done my part. Once that happens, I think the real work starts for me and I’ll continue to grow and get better and become a better player. I can’t wait to get this journey started.”
Settle is a five-year college product. He spent the first three years of his college career with Howard before moving to the Temple Owls for the final two years of his collegiate tenure. Stettle ended this past season with 12.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
While Settle will be preparing to fight for a two-way contract this summer, the Heat will be creating a plan to get the best out of Kasparas Jakucionis, whom they drafted 20th overall on June 25.
During a recent news conference, Vice President and Assistant General Manager Adam Simon shared his thoughts on the Heat’s latest rookie.
“We see tremendous potential with Kas,” Simon said. “You’re talking about a 6-5 [guard] with a plus-three [pointer], good athlete, but with a high IQ. So if you combine all those things with a work ethic, there’s no reason why you can’t mold him into a very good NBA player. I think that’s why we were attracted to take him tonight…We didn’t think he would be there. We had him higher, obviously, than where we picked him.”
Jakucionis could find himself stepping into a starting role to begin the new season. Terry Rozier hasn’t cemented himself as the team’s long-term guard. Therefore, letting Jakucionis learn on the fly could be deemed the right move by the coaching staff.
In a recent episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Bill Simmons shared his frustrations that Jakucionis fell to the Heat with the 20th pick.
“He fills the box score,” Simmons said. “He’s just gonna be good. It really is annoying to me. Then they’ll sign Kuminga and guess what? He’ll be good for them too. Then all sudden we’ll be like ‘We’re back with the Heat? I thought we killed them. We thought they were dead.’”
Bill Simmons is pissed Kasparas fell to Miami at 20
“He fills the box score.. He’s just gonna be good. It really is annoying to me. Then they’ll sign Kuminga and guess what? He’ll be good for them too. Then all sudden we’ll be like Jesus Christ we’re back with the Heat? I
Jakucionis fell out of the draft lottery due to concerns over his turnovers. He averaged 3.7 mistakes per game last season, causing multiple teams to pass on him in the draft process. Still, at 6-foot-6 with elite processing speed and passing ability, the Heat could have their guard of the future.
Now, to make Heat fans even more excited, if Settle can prove himself over the summer, Miami could have two new prospects to develop in the coming months and years.
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