As the Miami Heat prepare for a tough Eastern Conference this upcoming season, they are in the midst of shaping their opening-night roster as they have made some cuts announced Saturday by the team.

With the Heat’s president Pat Riley confident in the team to make some noise this season, they needed to dwindle down their roster to the 15-player maximum for the regular season, which they started to do.

The first cuts the Heat made was waiving former first-round pick Nassir Little, Warren Washington and some Summer League standouts in Isaiah Stevens and Zyon Pullin. In the Heat’s preseason finale win against the Memphis Grizzlies 114-109, Friday night, all of the players who got released played in the game.

There is a 5:00 p.m. (EST) deadline for teams to cut down their roster to 15 players for the regular season which doesn’t include the three on two-way contracts.

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on the young group of the team

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra reacts during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum.
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

There was stiff competition for the roster this year as a bevy of young talent from the Heat’s Summer League title-winning team were vying for spots which included Stevens and Pullin, the former who excelled in his passing ability.

Each of the rookies and young players had extended minutes in the preseason finale, and it essentially became the last time to prove themselves as Spoelstra was impressed with the youthful group according to The Miami Herald.

“What they have shown as a collective group of young guys, they’ve brought us some talent level that we’ve been able to restock with our roster. They’ve given us an exuberance,” Spoelstra said Friday.

“But they’ve also found a way as a group to win, to impact winning, to find a way to gut out wins. I don’t know what it is; I just know it’s something; I don’t want to overexaggerate it right now.

“I told them the head coach enjoys watching them compete,” Spoelstra continued. “They compete and play the right way. Even when it doesn’t always end up going exactly how you want it to, the intention is right. Good things happen if you’re in a great head space like that. It’s just hard to find a group like that, that can rally around that. It’s been fun.”

Where the Heat roster is at the current moment heading into the season

With the cuts to the four players, that leaves the Heat at 14 roster spots filled, which does not include the three two-way deals that are filled with Keshad Johnson, Josh Christopher, and Dru Smith. It’s also important to note that there is mutual interest for Pullin, Stevens, and Washington to join the Heat’s G-League affiliate in the Sioux Sky Force per The Miami Herald.

Another player that can do the same is Little but could find interest from other NBA teams since he has some experience in the league. He was mostly ineffective in the brief Heat stint except for the preseason finale where he scored 15 points as he made four of his five attempts from three-point range and collected five rebounds.

Nassir Little was hoping for permanent spot with the Heat

Little originally signed with the Heat with the possibility of rejuvenating his career in the NBA after being cut by the Phoenix Suns the season prior. During the team’s media day, he spoke about how Miami is a “great fit” for the former first-round pick in 2019.

“The vibe I got from here was that they wanted me the most. Looking at their track record, they’ve had a lot of success with players like myself,” Little said, “underdogs who just kind of need that chance, who have that fire, who have that will to compete. So I just felt like it was a great fit for me, truth be told.”

Little chose the Heat over some other title contenders where he reportedly worked out with the Boston Celtics, the Golden State Warriors, and the Sacramento Kings. He himself was “confident” something would turn out whether it was a guaranteed contract or not, which it was not for Miami.

“I was confident that something would show up,” Little, 24, said. “Whether it was guaranteed or not, I just felt like I needed an opportunity. I believe in myself enough to make the most of it.”

“With Miami, I just feel like they valued the type of player that I am the most,” Little continued. “Yeah, there were other opportunities. But I just felt like the reputation that Miami has with players like myself and just the conversations that I had with the staff around here, it wasn’t to that extent with any of the other organizations.”

Nassir Little looks to make decision on future, maybe still with Heat

The Heat will move on from now and look for breakout stars but still would possibly entertain Little going to their G-League affiliate. Because of that aforementioned interest from other teams, it could be likely that Little tries for a main roster spot elsewhere as in late September, he’s confident that his skills can land him somewhere.

“The versatility, being able to guard multiple positions, being able to hit shots, being able to use my length and my athleticism to guard guys, pick up full court,” Little said of himself. “You can plug me in. I can be a short roller, pick and pop, whatever the case may be.

“And I’ve played with dudes, and I have experience. I’ve played with great players. I know how to play off of great players. So I think they just valued all those things.”

“I think it’s made large strides,” Little said of his three-point shot. “Over the course of my career, it’s been trending up. Last year was a tough situation for me. But if you look at the year prior, I shot 37 percent. So I have the ability to hit shots. I just got to get a rhythm, and I’m confident I’ll be able to knock them down.”

At any rate, the Heat look to make some noise this season as they will try to not finish at the eighth seed for the third-straight season and avoid the disappointment of last year where they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Celtics. Miami starts the season on Oct. 23 against the Orlando Magic at the Kaseya Center for an in-state rivalry.