As the Miami Heat get ready for the Summer League as their young and up and coming stars look to stand out, one that will be one of the more interesting to watch is second round pick Pelle Larsson. Coming out of the University of Arizona, Larsson spoke to the media Thursday afternoon to talk about his first practice in preparation for play this summer, plus what he is looking to accomplish with the Heat.
Heat's Summer League coach calls Larsson versatile
Larsson's talents turned the heads of Miami who selected him with their second round pick as now he looks to showcase his skills in the offseason with the help of Summer League head coach Dan Bisaccio. Usually acting as the the team's player development coach, he will look to get the best out of every player on the summer roster, especially Larsson which Bisaccio said to ClutchPoints that they are “extremely excited” about the rookie's versatility.
“I mean for Pelle, we're extremely excited at the the versatility he can bring on both the offense and defensive ends, we're gonna really want to make sure he has those Heat habits,” Bisaccio said. “A lot of the different things of guarding different positions on offense. Yeah, he can shoot it, but we want to see that next level. What else can you do with the ball? Can you be a playmaker for us? Can you make reads from there, but above all, like we want these guys to go out there, we want them to compete.”
“You know, I'm not going to give them this full playbook full of things in terms they want to do. We want to make sure that they have a couple of things on their checklist, especially these young guys, but at the end of the day, like we want them to display winning habits, that's the most important thing, and that's what really translates to playing on the court in the NBA.”
Larsson talks being with Arizona teammate on Heat
Besides certain names that Heat fans remember from last season like Cole Swider and Alondes Williams, Larsson also joins first round pick Kel'el Ware and his college teammate in Keshad Johnson, who signed one of three of the team's two-way contracts. Johnson was picked up by Miami as an undrafted free agent as Larsson spoke with his Wildcats teammate about being with each other in the NBA.
“Me and Keshad, we got here in camp, we kind of talked about it a little bit and had some good conversations about just how far we’ve come, but just got to look forward to what's ahead,” Larsson said to ClutchPoints. “I got some texts about it on draft night, so I was really happy when they told me. Me and Keshad had a really good year together at Arizona. So I’m really happy that he’s here. There's probably no other team I want to play with so it’s a really cool thing.”
Larsson speaks on his play style and how it fits Miami
As soon as Larsson was selected by the Heat after swapping their picks with the Atlanta Hawks to move down a spot, he definitely seemed like a player the team would like. He played four seasons of collegiate basketball, has major tournament experience, is a great shooter, and has intensity on defense, aspects that the 23-year old believes fits with the organization.
“I think my play style fits very well with this team,” Larsson said. “I think every guy on the Heat does a lot of things. It's not one specific thing. Like there's a lot that goes into it. Our guys are two way guys, like two ends of the floor defense and offense. And they can do a lot of things in a lot of situations. So that's just the type of player I fit in into that category and it's a guy that can do a lot of things and play on both ends.”
Larsson on the Heat's player development
The Heat have also been known in the past to take players who are specifically known for their three-point shooting and making them into more all-around players like Duncan Robinson and Max Strus. Larsson speaks about the team's player development program and how it helps a player with his skill set.
“I've heard great things. I think there's been a lot of players similar to me with similar skill sets and body types,” Larsson said. “So I know that they've had a lot of success with guys like me in the past. So I have a lot of trust for the organization and the coaches that they'll be able to do the same thing with me, that's kind of how I see it.”
Even after one day of Summer League practice, Larsson has already been turning heads like with teammate Cole Swider who calls him an “unbelievable talent.”
“And Pelle has unbelievable talent,” Swider said. “You can tell he has a great nose for the basketball. And he’s deceivingly athletic. It was well noted in his pre draft process of who he is as a shooter and some of the things that you can do on defense end. When he was throwing down some dunks today, I was like, ‘Wow, this guy is underratedly athletic.’”
Heat have been watching Larsson “for years”
It will be exciting for Heat fans to see the further development Larsson gets through, especially when the upcoming season ramps up and he gets to work with head coach Erik Spoelstra. In any sense, he was a player that Miami has apparently “been watching for years” according to Miami's assistant general manager Adam Simon.
“Pelle [Larsson] is player we've been watching for years,” Simon said after the Heat selected Larsson. “We've done a lot of work with Coach Lloyd out in Arizona, both for him and Keshad actually, we were very high on both of those guys. And I think Larsson what he shows us is well rounded, versatile player.”
“With 38 inch vertical, big hands, has a little bit of an edge to him. And we thought he would already fit in here with his versatility, obviously his ability to shoot and a defensive mindset. So for us it was obviously we had him as the top player on our board when we went to pick and it so happened that we had an opportunity to swap one spot and for us, we got the same player we would have had 43 to pick 44 and we made that decision to pick them at 44.”
The Heat's first Summer League game will be on Saturday, July 13 against the Boston Celtics.
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