Miami Heat waive former Kentucky shooting guard Mychal Mulder

Mychal Mulder has been a solid contributor for the Miami Heat during the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League play, but unfortunately, he didn’t show enough to warrant a new contract.

Not long before tipoff of Miami’s final Summer League game on Saturday night, the Heat announced that it had waived a pair of two-way contract players: Mulder and guard Javonte Smart. The franchise quickly filled those contracts with guard Marcus Garrett and forward Darius Says. Mulder, who played at Kentucky for two seasons (’15-16 and ’16-17), initially signed a two-way deal with Miami back in March.

Hours before final summer league game in Vegas, Heat announces it has waived two-way contract guards Mychal Mulder and Javonte Smart to make room to sign guard Marcus Garrett and forward Darius Days to two-way deals.

— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) July 16, 2022

This news isn’t a huge surprise for Mulder, who had an up-and-down session in Las Vegas. He played in three of Miami’s five Summer League games, averaging 12.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 turnovers in 22.3 minutes per outing while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc.

However, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard failed to record a single assist during his three contests and shot under 40 percent overall from the floor. Through six total Summer League games (including three contests in the California Classic), Mulder shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and 30.2 percent from distance.

This might not be the end for Mulder’s NBA career though, who has been a steady presence since the 2019-20 season when he was with the Golden State Warriors. His best individual stretch was the ’20-21 campaign with the Warriors where he played in 60 games, including six starts. Mulder then played 15 games for the Orlando Magic in ’21-22 before getting waived in January and eventually picked up by the Heat to conclude the season.

Mulder has been a mainstay in the G League since his departure from Kentucky in 2017. I would expect the 28-year-old to land another role within the NBA for the upcoming ’22-23 season. He’s a bonafide shooter at this level, having connected on 36.9 percent of his career looks from beyond the arc (118-320). Mulder is now free to sign with an NBA team after being waived on Saturday.