The Miami Heat’s developmental program works with almost assembly-line-like precision and consistency. From Udonis Halsem to Duncan Robinson, Anthony Carter to Max Strus, the Heat have managed to mine hidden gems from the undrafted ranks with impressive, at times logic-defying frequency.

At this rate, any time the organization aligns itself with an undrafted free agent, someone wonders aloud if that player will be the next success story. Sort of like I’m doing here with Keshad Johnson, who should have a chance to fight for a rotation role after having his contract guaranteed for the 2025-26 season.

Undrafted out of Arizona (and San Diego State before that), Johnson spent the first half of last season on a two-way contract with the Heat and the second on a standard deal. He only logged 98 minutes at this level, though, so he’ll come into this campaign as, essentially, a complete unknown.

If the Heat can sprinkle their magic developmental dust on him, though, he’ll exit the season as the next product of the culture.

Johnson could carve out a niche as an athletic, defense-first forward.

Miami’s success with undrafted players is more than just a good story.

“It’s an organizational philosophy of ours,” coach Erik Spoelstra told Andrew Lopez, then with ESPN, back in 2022. “We’ve done it now for several years. We know what we’re looking for. We’re not for everybody, but we love to be dream makers.”

The Heat’s undrafted finds have come in all different play styles, but they’ve all played extremely hard. Johnson comes from the same mold. The 6’6″, 225-pounder utilizes his high motor to make the most of his athletic gifts as a versatile defender, transition finisher, and rebounder. He is still finding his way as an offensive player in the half-court (mainly due to a work-in-progress perimeter shot), but you get why the Heat felt he was worth keeping around.

That’s also because striking it rich with this kind of developmental project can be invaluable under the collective bargaining agreement. Teams must make the most of every dollar spent, and the Heat could have some huge expenditures sooner rather than later, whether that’s a contract extension with Tyler Herro, an extension that keeps Norman Powell around, or maybe a marquee external addition in one of the next two offseasons.

If the Heat can mold Johnson into a rotation regular while he’s making minimal money or something close to that, then they can take another step toward building a formidable supporting cast without preventing themselves for embarking on a future whale hunt or two.

And Johnson has a chance to become that. His glue-guy potential is obvious and obtainable, especially if he can get that jumper going. He won’t make or break Miami’s 2025-26 season or anything, but if this developmental program works for him, he could make life a little easier on both his teammates and this front office.