Zyon Pullin returning to Heat on Exhibit 10 contract. What it means for Pullin and the roster

Even after being waived by the Miami Heat in late July, it appears that guard Zyon Pullin will be on the Heat’s roster for training camp.

That’s because the Heat signed Pullin to an Exhibit 10 contract on Monday less than two weeks after waiving him from his two-way deal. The Exhibit 10 contract that Pullin is now signed to is essentially an invite to training camp and protects him from being signed away by another team.

Pullin, 23, was initially signed by the Heat to a two-way deal on July 1 shortly after he went undrafted out of Florida this summer. But after a quiet summer league, the Heat waived Pullin on July 25 in order to have room to sign summer league standout Josh Christopher to a two-way contract.

Pullin averaged 5.3 points, one rebound, 1.7 assists and 0.2 steals per game in six appearances for the Heat during Las Vegas Summer League. After Pullin began summer league as the Heat’s starting point guard, Isaiah Stevens started ahead of him in the final four games in Las Vegas.

But the Heat remains intrigued by Pullin’s skill set as a 6-foot-4 point guard, offering him an opportunity through an Exhibit 10 deal to compete in training camp and during the preseason for one of the team’s two-way contracts. Even if Pullin doesn’t land a two-way deal from the Heat before the start of the season, the Exhibit 10 contract could still keep him within the organization’s developmental umbrella by facilitating a move to the Heat’s G League affiliate — the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Pullin, a California native, averaged 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 turnovers per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 44.9 percent (35 of 78) on threes in his lone season with the Florida Gators last season. 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 University of California, 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.

“Just a point guard who can come in and do a little bit of it all,” Pullin said last month to the Miami Herald when asked what he could bring to the Heat. “Then also use my size on the defensive end to get stops and be interchangeable. So I just want to continue to show that I’m a guy who they can trust on the floor on both sides of the ball.”

WHERE THE HEAT’S ROSTER NOW STANDS

The Heat’s preseason roster currently includes 19 players.

The 14 players signed by the Heat to standard contracts for next season are Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith, Kel’el Ware, Kevin Love, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Josh Richardson, Nikola Jovic, Thomas Bryant, Alec Burks, and Pelle Larsson.

While the Heat’s standard roster remains one short of the regular-season limit of 15 players, the Heat is expected to open this upcoming regular season with 14 players on standard deals — which is permitted by NBA rules — because of its salary-cap crunch. That’s because unless a trade is made to change the salary cap math, the Heat does not have enough room under the punitive second apron to sign a 15th player to a standard contract.

The Heat’s three two-way contract players are Christopher, Keshad Johnson and Dru Smith.

The Heat also has Stevens, who went undrafted in June out of Colorado State and impressed in summer league, signed to an Exhibit 10 contract.

Pullin and Stevens are the only players who the Heat currently has signed to an Exhibit 10 deal. The Heat has until the day before the start of the regular season to decide whether to move them to a standard/two-way roster spot or waive them.

NBA teams are allowed to carry up to 21 players under contract in the offseason and preseason. Rosters must be cut to a maximum total of 18 players (15 on standard contracts and three on two-way contracts) by the start of the regular season.

The Heat is scheduled to hold its annual media day on Sept. 30 before opening training camp on Oct. 1 to kick off the 2024-25 season.