Center management: will Goldin be able to gain a foothold in Miami

Last weekend, Russian center Vladislav Goldin made his NBA debut. In the Miami Heat's away game against the Boston Celtics (116-129), he spent less than a minute on the floor, but managed to score one assist, as well as a high score ("+6"). For more information about Goldin's prospects to gain a foothold in the three—time NBA champions, see Izvestia.

I deserve a chance

The match with the Celtics was Goldin's first in the NBA regular season — before that, he played for the Heat's main team in the preseason. The Russian entered the court at the end and managed to give an assist to Kasparas Yakuchionis in 55 seconds of playing time. The "plus or minus" indicator of the center was "+6".

24-year-old Goldin was born in Nalchik, initially engaged in wrestling, but after a sharp increase in height (up to 216 cm) switched to basketball. Vladislav spent three seasons with the CSKA Moscow junior team, and in 2020 he moved to the United States, where he represented the Putnam Science Academy (Connecticut), after which he received a scholarship to the University of Texas (NCAA). From 2021 to 2024, he played in the student league for the Florida Atlantic. The Russian helped her reach the NCAA Final Four for the first time in history, and spent the next season with the Michigan Wolverines.

Goldin was not selected by any club in the 2025 draft, and after the ceremony it became known that Miami had signed a bilateral agreement with the center that allows him to play in both the G-League and the NBA.

He has already played in seven games in the G-League, averaging 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds in 25.8 minutes on the floor. At the end of November, our center demonstrated impressive statistics in a meeting with the Windy City Bulls (Chicago Bulls farm club): He spent 33 minutes on the court and scored 23 points during that time (10 of 17 from the game, including three of three three-pointers), made 14 rebounds, provided four assists and made two blocked shots. And on Saturday, December 20, he became the second Russian after Brooklyn Nets defender Egor Demin to take part in the matches of the current NBA championship.

The last time two representatives of our country debuted in the league at once was in 2004 — Viktor Khryapa and Pavel Podkolzin, and two Russians played in the same NBA season for the last time in 2015 — Andrey Kirilenko and Alexey Shved.

What does the Goldin contract mean?

A two-way contract (or 2WC) is a special form of labor relationship between a player and an NBA organization that allows team management to use a basketball player both at the base and in the farm club. Since 2017, the team's rosters have been increased from 15 to 17 people, and two places have been added just under 2WC. During the season, you can keep three players for these two places. For the entire season, a player in this status can play no more than 50 matches.

Players at 2WC receive $578,577 each, which is half of the minimum NBA contract for the season. They can't compete in the playoffs. The deadline for the player's fate at 2WC is January 10, after which you can either part with him or take on another type of contract.

Is there life during and after 2WC? Of course there is. Alex Caruso, one of the most important players in the current champions of the Oklahoma City Blue, will not lie. Before that, Alex played for the Lakers, where he received the nickname Karu-show and a championship ring. Chicago had two symbolic defensive teams and a full-fledged contract. In 2025, Alex, already as part of Oklahoma, intimidated all the opposing players who had the ball in their hands, and seasoned his 25 minutes from the bench with 9 points and an incredible hype for the stands. The NBA champion title is attached. $40 million at the moment and another $80 million for the next four years is a great addition to the pre—draft estimate of "don't get any idea what kind of white man with a funny hairstyle."

Of the "big ones," Naz Reed from Minnesota did a good job on himself. In 2019, Naz signed a 2WC with Wolves and immediately moved to the farm team. The annual progress led to a full-fledged three-year contract worth $42 million in 2023, and a year later Reed received the title of the best sixth player in the league. Last season, the Wolves played in their conference finals, and Naz was far from the last player.

If we talk about the situation with Vlad Goldin and his new team, then there are several interesting points. Last season, Miami had three people at 2WC: Josh Christopher, Drew Smith and Isaah Stevens. Smith played in 14 games for 19 minutes on average, scoring 6 points each. As a result of the performances, Miami made a qualifying offer to the player, which allowed him to transfer to the roster and for other money (now he regularly plays in the NBA).

At the moment, Miami has three potential centers: Vlad, Bem Adebayo, who has long gone beyond his position, and Kelel Ware. Bem is certainly untouchable, but you can fight with Ware in minutes. Although the 21-year-old American is noticeably improving in his second season in the League, averaging a double-double per game (12.5 points and 10.7 rebounds).

Another important point: Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is not a big fan of playing with a clean center, but he loves and knows how to work on the development of the big ones. It was Spoelstra who discovered such masters as Hassan Whiteside and James Johnson.

— We are well acquainted with Dusty May (the Russian's coach at Florida Atlantic. — Ed.), he said that we can confidently count on a number of positive aspects of Goldin," Spoelstra noted at a press conference last month. — His size, activity, athleticism. He has certain limitations, but he takes the issue of his development very seriously. We are open to cooperation with him. He can achieve a role for himself in the NBA against the background of changes in the league's gaming trends. We'll see how his progress goes, but it's a pleasure to work with him. He's on site every day, working hard. He works hard in training and smiles afterwards.

Miami will play four more games this year. Hopefully, Goldin will be able to get playing time in them.