Heat adds pair of undrafted standouts to two-way deals. Here’s a list of Miami’s undrafted commits

The Heat moved quickly after the draft on Thursday evening, signing two players to two-way contracts: Florida guard Zyon Pullin and Arizona forward Keshad Johnson.

After adding Indiana center Kel’el Ware with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday and then taking Arizona wing Pelle Larsson with the 44th overall pick in the second round of the draft on Thursday, the Heat immediately turned its attention to the undrafted pool of players to fill its summer roster and also find intriguing prospects who have the potential to become the organization’s next undrafted success story.

After adding size in first round, Heat drafts Arizona wing Pelle Larsson in second round

Johnson was the Heat’s highest-rated undrafted player and quickly targeted him, offering the type of two-way commitment that Miami typically doesn’t offer this quickly after the draft. The Heat also gave Pullin a two-way deal, which do not count toward the salary cap, luxury tax or apron and allow for players to be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games.

Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon said Johnson and Pullin were “two players we were surprised didn’t get drafted,” and members of Miami’s front office felt like they wouldn’t necessarily land them if they didn’t immediately offer two-way contracts. While the Heat typically has been more deliberate about its two-ways in past years, more and more teams are beginning to offer two-way deals promptly after the draft.

Each team can carry up three players on two-way contracts at any one time and those players can be swapped out at any time to sign others to two-way deals.

Alondes Williams, Jamal Cain and Cole Swider all finished last season with the Heat on two-way contracts and are all eligible to sign two-way deals with the Heat for next season, but only one open two-way slot remains on Miami’s roster. The Heat can also sign Williams, Cain and/or Swider to standard contracts to promote them to the 15-man roster for next season.

With summer league approaching, Williams and Swider are expected to play for the Heat’s summer league team this year. Cain, as of now, is not expected to be on Miami’s summer league roster.

The Heat’s two draft picks this year — Ware and Larsson — and two new two-way contract players — Johnson and Pullin — are also expected to be on Miami’s summer league roster.

The Heat’s summer league team is scheduled to travel to the West Coast in the coming days to begin practices on July 4.

The Heat opens summer league play in San Francisco with a three-game schedule at the California Classic, matching up against the Golden State Warriors on July 6 at 6:30 p.m., the Sacramento Kings on July 7 at 4:30 p.m. and Los Angeles Lakers on July 10 at 7 p.m. at the Golden State Warriors’ home arena.

The Heat will then, like every NBA team, play at least five games in Las Vegas Summer league that will be held from July 12-22: vs. Boston Celtics on July 13 at 6:30 p.m. on NBA TV, vs. Oklahoma City Thunder on July 15 at 6 p.m. on ESPNU, vs. Dallas Mavericks on July 17 at 3 p.m. on ESPN2, vs. Toronto Raptors on July 19 at 9 p.m. on ESPN+ and ESPN3, and the fifth game will either be played on either July 20 or 21 with the opponent and game time determined later. Only the two teams that make the championship game will play a sixth game in Las Vegas Summer League.

Player development coach Dan Bisaccio will serve as the Heat’s summer league head coach for the first time.

Details on each of the Heat’s two-way contract additions:

Florida guard Zyon Pullin: The 6-foot-4 Pullin averaged 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 turnovers per game in his lone season with the Gators, while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 44.9 percent (35 of 78) on threes. He played in 33 games and started 27 in his fifth college season as a graduate student.

Before transferring to Florida, Pullin spent four seasons at Cal-Riverside. He averaged 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 34.7 percent (75 of 216) on threes during those four years at UC Riverside.

Pullin posted an impressive 3.77-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is a Florida record and the best by any Southeastern Conference player since at least 2000.

Pullin worked out for the Heat during the pre-draft process. The Ringer picked Tyus Jones as his NBA comparison.

Arizona forward Keshad Johnson: He averaged 11.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and one steal per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 36 of 93 (38.7 percent) on threes in 37 games (all starts) as a fifth-year senior at Arizona last season.

He spent the first four years of his college career at San Diego State.

Johnson, who turned 23 on June 23, stands at 6-foot-6 and 224 pounds with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. The Ringer picked former Heat forward Jae Crowder as his NBA comparison.

“Bulky forward who can fill in gaps on offense while providing upside as a defensive stopper,” The Ringer wrote of Johnson.

Bleacher Report, Yahoo, The Ringer, ESPN and Sports Illustrated all had projected Johnson to go between 39 and 52 in the 58-player draft.

Simon said of Johnson: “Certainly at San Diego State, tracked him. We saw this player who has a lot of physical ability, obviously really strong, quick twitch athletic player. He has a little bit of an edge to him. Goes to Arizona, so he transfers up to the Pac-12. He gets more out of his game there, which we always like to say. And just spending time with him, hearing about his background, we felt like the kid has a good head on his shoulders.

“He’s really driven to work. We saw him this year in the Pac-12, got to spend some time with him after the season in the pre-draft. Again, mutual interest to come here and so I think getting to see him up close and learning about him and his journey and his path to where he is now, it seemed like he was going to be someone we would have a high level of interest in. When he wasn’t drafted, he was our highest non-drafted player on our board.

”Keshad, I think, has the ability to put in different roles as a defender in both forward threats. He’s a lob threat. Defensively, he moves around. His lateral quickness is really good. So again, I think the word I used is versatility. I think he fits that.”

Johnson’s career averages during his four seasons at San Diego State: 5.8 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes per game, including 22 minutes per game in his final season with the Aztecs.

WHAT WILL REST OF SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER LOOK LIKE?

The Heat is also in the process of adding others to Exhibit 10 contracts and summer contracts to fill out its summer league rosters.

Here’s an updated list of others who have agreed to join the Heat’s summer league team, according to sources and reports:

Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens: The 5-foot-11 and 180-pound guard signed with the Heat for summer league after going undrafted this year. He played five seasons at Colorado State, averaging 16 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 66 of 150 (44 percent) on threes as a graduate student this past season. During Steven’s five-year college career, he shot 253 of 629 (40.2 percent) from behind the arc. He’s a standout pull-up shooter and also made an efficient 45.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes this past season. Stevens turns 24 on Nov. 1.

Sioux Falls Skyforce guard Bryson Warren: The 19-year-old Warren averaged 6.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 37.6 percent from the field and 38 of 117 (32.5 percent) on threes for the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Skyforce, this past season. Warren (6-foot-2) played for the Skyforce last season after signing with Overtime Elite as a four-year high school recruit. He was selected by the Skyforce with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NBA G League Draft.

Texas Tech forward Warren Washington: The 24-year-old signed with the Heat for summer league after going undrafted this year. Listed at 7-feet and 230 pounds, Washington averaged 9.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 63.6 percent from the field and not attempting a three-pointer in 23 games (22 starts) this past season as a super senior at Texas Tech. He also played for Oregon State, Nevada and Arizona State during his college career.