Kyle Lowry vs. Josh Richardson isn’t a ‘quarterback controversy’ but Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has a decision to make.
BOCA RATON — The biggest question still lingering after four days of Miami Heat training camp is who will emerge as PG1. Days after Kyle Lowry said he expects to be the team’s starting point guard, it’s still unclear if he will be, or if someone else will claim that spot.
The contenders for minutes at point guard: Lowry, Josh Richardson and Dru Smith, who returns to the team on a two-way contract. All three have played point guard during the Heat’s training camp this week on the FAU campus, getting turns to run the offense for different teams in mixed scrimmages.
Erik Spoelstra has maintained that he has yet to decide on a starting lineup. We could see several iterations in the preseason, which for the Heat begins Tuesday with a home game against the Charlotte Hornets.
“You’re trying to create a quarterback controversy,” Spoelstra quipped to a reporter when asked about the starting point guard job after Friday’s practice.
Controversy, at this point, is a strong word. But Lowry, 37, told reporters Tuesday and reiterated Friday that he expects to be the starting point guard.
“I didn’t say I’m going to, I said I expect to be,” Lowry said. “So get the words right. I expect to be.”
Lowry said he still hasn’t spoken with Spoelstra about whether he’ll be reinserted into the starting lineup, or continue to come off the bench the way he did for Miami’s stretch run to the NBA Finals last season. You can read more about that topic here
After Gabe Vincent, the Heat’s starting point guard in the playoffs, signed with the Lakers in free agency, the Heat added Richardson and began putting more work into Smith, who returned to the team for Las Vegas Summer League after a brief stint with the Brooklyn Nets late last season.
Smith has been in the Heat’s development pipeline since 2021 — mostly via assignments on their Summer League and G League teams — but this summer marked the most intensive work he’s done with the staff.
“We were able to do the most extended player development program for him for eight weeks,” Spoelstra said. “He’s just dramatically better.”
Smith is on a two-way contract but could be bumped up to a standard contract. The Heat have just 13 players on the 15-man roster and will need to sign a 14th before the start of the season. But to expect him to start is unrealistic. At most, he’ll get minutes as a reserve point guard.
It comes down to Lowry and Richardson. Lowry is the traditional “PG1” and savvy vet. Richardson is the more versatile defender and willing 3-point shooter. Both have taken turns running offenses in Boca Raton. Spoelstra has been non-commital about which player has the edge.
“Kyle, obviously, is our decorated champion,” Spoelstra said. “He’s one of the great quarterbacks and quarterback minds in this league and he’s critical to what we do.”
As for Richardson? “Just trying to get him re-acclimated to a little more of the role that he played with us previously.”
Richardson did play point guard for the Heat during his first stint with the team, mostly during his final season in 2018-19, when he averaged a career-high 4.1 assists per game.
But Miami’s offense doesn’t call for a strict point guard. When at their best, the Heat are running offense through Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. If anything, it might be more important to find players who complement their skill sets than a player with a traditional point guard skill set.
“The system we have doesn’t really call for a true point guard,” Richardson said. “It’s been an adjustment back to it.”
Tyler Herro is likely to start alongside Butler, Adebayo, Kevin Love and Spoelstra’s choice at point guard. The Heat are relying on Herro to improve and develop into the primary scoring option they tried to acquire in a Damian Lillard trade, and those around the team have been impressed with Herro’s work.
“Tyler, he’s been on,” Spoelstra said. “There’s no off button on him this week and that’s on both ends of the court.
“It’s not hyperbole when the coaches say he’s one of the most skilled players in this association. He is and we have talked about how he’s going to show everybody. And we need it. The things that he can do fill in so many gaps for us that help our offense exponentially.”
When reporters were let onto the gym floor to observe the end of practice, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. greeted them by skying through the air and treating them to a 360-degree dunk that drew impressed reactions from teammates, coaches and media.
Teammates have been quick to praise Jaquez for his maturity and underrated athleticism and skill.
“How skilled he is,” was Adebayo’s response when asked about his first impression of Jaquez.
“His skill level and him knowing how to play, that’s been a very pleasant surprise,” Spoelstra said.
It’s one thing for his teammates to say it, it’s another for Jaquez to show it.