MIAMI — Just shy of two months from the start of training camp, the Miami Heat already have an almost full preseason roster, with Monday offering another example of how fluid NBA offseason rosters can be.
Waived two weeks ago from a Heat two-way contract so the Heat could sign summer-league standout Josh Christopher to a two-way contract, undrafted Florida guard Zyon Pullin was re-signed Monday to a Exhibit 10 camp tryout contract.
The signing of Pullin, 23, puts the Heat offseason roster at 19, two shy off the NBA maximum. Teams then must cut down to no more than 15 players under standard contract and three under two-way contract by opening night.
Pullin had been signed in the immediate wake of the draft to a two-way contract, but then struggled during the Heat’s summer schedule, eventually losing his starting role in those games to undrafted Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens.
Based on the Heat’s position against the highly punitive second-tier of the luxury-tax apron, Pullin’s best — and likely only — opportunity to make the opening-night roster would be to supplant one of the three players currently on two-way contracts, contracts that can be subbed out at any point, as Pullin learned last month.
Due to their position against the luxury tax, the Heat are expected to only carry 14 players under standard contract to open those season, with 14 players already under guaranteed contract: Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love, Josh Richardson, Haywood Highsmith, Alec Burks, Thomas Bryant and 2024 draft picks Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson.
Currently holding two-way contracts are Christopher, undrafted Arizona forward Keshad Johnson and returning point guard Dru Smith.
Pullin and Stevens, who bring the offseason roster to 19, likely will be in competition with Smith for a two-way deal, as Smith works back from the season-ending knee injury he sustained last November. At 6 foot 4, Pullin has a size advantage in that competition, with Smith listed at 6-2 and Stevens at 6-0.
An Exhibit 10 contract allows for a guarantee of up to $77,000 if a player is cut before the regular season, provided he agrees to move on to a team’s G League affiliate, which in the Heat’s case is the Sioux Falls Skyforce. The Skyforce coach this coming season will be Dan Bisaccio, who guided Pullin during summer league last month in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Players under Exhibit 10 contracts cannot be signed away by other teams.
Pullin appeared in nine games during summer league for the Heat, making two starts, averaging 5.9 points, 1.9 assists and 1.2 rebounds, while shooting .513 from the field.
An All-SEC first-team selection last season with the Gators, the California native who started his college career at Cal-Riverside, appeared in 33 games (including 27 starts) for Florida as a graduate transfer last season, averaging 15.5 points, 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game, shooting .444 from the field, .449 on 3-pointer and .847 from the foul line. In addition, he set a single-season school record with a 3.77 assist-to-turnover ratio.
