Dusty May on Vladislav Goldin to Miami Heat: 'I can't imagine a better situation'

Michigan Wolverines basketball center Vladislav Goldin signed a two-way contract with the Miami Heat shortly after going unselected in the 2025 NBA Draft. Two-way contracts allow players to split time between the NBA and G League.

Michigan head coach Dusty May, who coached the 7-foot-1 big man for four years, revealed on ‘The Sideline’ with Andy Katz that he’s a big fan of the Goldin/Heat fit.

“I was disappointed, just because he didn’t hear his name called,” May said. “I think that’s every player’s dream, but as soon as it wasn’t called, then you immediately turn the page and focus on what you can control — and I can’t imagine a better situation for Vlad to be in.”

The Heat have veteran big men and an emerging young talent in former Indiana center Ke’lel Ware, meaning Goldin may be able to carve out a niche for himself.

“The Miami Heat, they have Kel’el Ware, they have Bam [Adebayo], they have Kevin Love. So, they don’t have a lot of young, developmental bigs, so I would think he would have the opportunity to go in and prove his worth there and develop in Miami or [with the G League affiliate in] Sioux Falls, wherever they may be.

“He’s gonna have his hard hat and lunch pail wherever he is. But I just think sometimes a team and a player find the right match, and with Vlad’s work ethic and his care for people and how good of a teammate he is, I think that he’ll really be valued in that Heat culture.”

Goldin and the Heat will begin NBA Summer League action in San Francisco July 5. The first game is at 4:30 p.m. ET vs. the San Antonio Spurs. The team will then participate in the Summer League in Las Vegas beginning July 10.

May’s son, Jack May, works in the video department for the Heat.

Dusty May weighs in on Danny Wolf, Michigan turnovers

Fellow Michigan big man Danny Wolf was taken No. 27 overall in the first round by the Brooklyn Nets — unthinkable just a few years ago. Wolf steadily rose at Yale, with the Israel national team and in his one season at Michigan to the point of becoming the Wolverines’ 12th first-rounder in the last 13 years.

“He’s gradually improved probably the last five to eight years of his career,” May said. “And he’s always been a hard worker, but when you watch his clips from high school or even junior high, they’re pretty entertaining, because he always had good ball skills and always had a unique game. He obviously transformed his body after those eighth-grade videos that have surfaced.

Wolf, who averaged 13.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season at Michigan, thrived playing alongside another seven-footer in Goldin.

“But I think a big part of his success story is simply being in the right situation — and I don’t want to say ‘system’ or anything like that — and playing with Vlad, they developed great chemistry together,” May explained. “And then our perimeter guys really embraced those guys creating offense and advantages, so I do think that he’s gradually improved the last several years.

“But just the guys he was around, it was the perfect situation for him to show his skill set.”

The knock on Wolf’s game is that he’s turnover prone. Taking on a high-usage role at Michigan, including serving as an initiator of offense, he turned the ball over on 23.9 percent of possessions, per Kenpom, the fifth-highest mark among qualified Big Ten players in 2024-25. Turnover issues were team-wide for Michigan that year, though, and not all his fault or indicative of future struggles.

“We struggled turning the ball over, much like we did early in our FAU days, and I’ve spent a lot of time this offseason studying why, what, what, where, when, whatnot,” the Michigan coach said. “And it was a combination of a lot of things.

“I do think Danny essentially playing the point guard at times was new. I also think the system was new for everyone, so there would be cutters that were open and they didn’t realize Danny was gonna throw them the ball and it would go out of bounds. There were a few careless ones, as well. So, it wasn’t as if you could fix one thing. We weren’t trying to play whack-a-mole, so we were simply trying to reduce them.

“But overall, I think most of them are correctable errors. He has the skill set and intelligence to fix them.”