MIAMI — The Miami Heat signed forward J’Vonne Hadley, the club announced, adding a versatile Louisville product who started all eight of his Summer League games with the franchise across the San Francisco California Classic and the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Hadley averaged 5.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.00 blocks in Summer League play while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 88.9 percent from the foul line. He grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds against Golden State on July 6 and a team-high seven rebounds against Orlando on July 11, flashing the rebounding instincts that made him a standout at Louisville.
In his final college season, Hadley appeared in 34 games with 33 starts for the Cardinals, averaging 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.00 steals in 28.0 minutes per game. He shot 56.2 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range and 70.5 percent from the foul line — efficient numbers across the board for a forward asked to carry a significant workload.
Hadley was voted by teammates to serve as one of the team’s captains at Louisville, where he led the squad in steals a team-high 10 times and in rebounding on eight occasions. He scored in double figures 23 times, including a 20-point performance against Baylor on February 14.
The signing gives Miami another young forward who proved he could contribute on the boards and defend at the Summer League level. Hadley’s shooting efficiency — particularly his 44 percent mark from three-point range at Louisville — addresses a perennial need for floor spacing on the Heat roster heading into the regular season.