Josh Christopher’s strong finish for the Miami Heat at summer league, combined with uneven play over those three weeks by undrafted Florida guard Zyon Pullin, on Thursday led to an alteration with the Miami Heat’s approach with their two-way contracts. Having helped fuel the Heat to the championship of the recently completed Las Vegas NBA Summer League, Christopher was awarded one of the three two-way deals available to the Heat, a contract that pays half the NBA minimum salary and allows a player to be on the active roster for 50 of the regular season’s 82 games. That move came at the expense of Pullin, who was uneven with his play over the three weeks of the Heat’s summer program, eventually bypassed in the Heat’s summer starting lineup by undrafted Colorado State point guard Isaiah Stevens.
Remaining under two-way contacts for the Heat are undrafted Arizona forward Keshad Johnson and returning Heat guard Dru Smith, who spent most of last season sidelined with a knee injury sustained in November. Thursday’s move continued the limbo of guard Alondes Williams and forward Cole Swider, who both finished last season on Heat two-way contracts, but remain without contract offers for the Heat for the coming season. While the Heat again are at the maximum of three players under two-way contracts, they continue to operate with 14 players under standard contract, one below the NBA regular-season maximum.
The Heat currently are unable to fill that 15th standard roster spot .