Zyon Pullin Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Waive Nassir Little, Three Others

October 19th, 2024 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have requested waivers on Nassir Little, Zyon Pullin, Isaiah Stevens, and Warren Washington, the team announced today (via Twitter).

All four players were in camp with Miami on non-guaranteed contracts. Little had an Exhibit 9 deal, while Pullin, Stevens, and Washington each had Exhibit 10 language in their agreements. That means those latter three are good candidates to land with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G League affiliate, whereas Little – who wouldn’t earn an Exhibit 10 bonus with the Skyforce – may seek out another opportunity.

Little is the most notable name in the group, having been a first-round pick in 2019 who has 237 career NBA regular season appearances under his belt. After spending his first four seasons in Portland, he was traded to Phoenix in last year’s Damian Lillard blockbuster, but struggled for his new team, averaging a career-low 3.4 points per game with a .300 3PT% in just 10.2 minutes per game.

Little, who has battled injuries since entering the league and has never played more than 54 games in a season, was waived by the Suns in August with three years and $21.75MM left on his contract. He had a chance to make the Heat’s regular season roster, but the odds were against him, given that retaining him into the regular season would have pushed Miami’s team salary above the restrictive second tax apron.

The Heat now have 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals. Barring some last-minute moves for G League purposes, their roster could be set for opening night.

Heat Notes: Butler, Adebayo, Jovic, Rozier, Riley, Pullin

October 8th, 2024 at 10:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There were some good signs during the Heat‘s preseason loss to Charlotte on Tuesday, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes.

Jimmy Butler played his first preseason game in two years and contributed 11 points in 15-plus minutes. Bam Adebayo made two of his five 3-point attempts as he looks to expand his offensive game. And Nikola Jovic had nine points in 16 minutes while starting alongside Adebayo up front.

“It was good to get that game conditioning in,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of the preseason opener. “It always feels a little bit different no matter how many years you’ve played. Our guys have been working extremely hard. But it was good to face somebody else.”

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Terry Rozier projects as the starting point guard on opening night. He battled a neck injury late last season and into the offseason. “This whole offseason, when I first got hurt, I definitely appreciated the game way more than I ever did,” Rozier said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “That’s why I said everything happens for a reason. I really feel like this happened for a reason to make me lock back in, to focus. Now I’m just not looking back.”
All current and future courts at Miami’s home arena will be dedicated to team president Pat Riley, Chiang notes. The Heat’s home court will now be known as “Pat Riley Court at Kaseya Center,” with the new name and Riley’s signature inscribed onto the court. Riley will become just the second coach in NBA history to receive such an honor, Chiang writes, joining Red Auerbach of the Celtics.
Zyon Pullin is participating in camp on an Exhibit 10 contract. The former Florida guard knows he’ll be ticketed to the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. “It’s really just been definitely spend time in Sioux Falls and really just trying that development program, the history and track record it’s had,” Pullin said, per Winderman. “It’s a reason why I wanted to be here in the first place. So I think it’s just continue to lock in once we go down there and keep developing and see where it goes from there.”
In case you missed it, the Heat’s Thursday preseason game vs. Atlanta has been pushed back to next Wednesday (October 16) due to Hurricane Milton.

Eastern Notes: Lee, Peterson, Hornets, Ivey, Duren, White, Pullin

August 7th, 2024 at 10:42am CST by Tristan Tucker

After speaking with more than 10 candidates, the Hornets decided on Charles Lee to be the franchise’s next head coach, having been won over by Lee’s basketball and business backgrounds, as well as his experience in player development and championship history, according to executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson, who spoke to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov about Lee and the state of the Hornets.

“His tactical skills are great,” Peterson said of Charlotte’s new head coach. “He’s a champion. He’s won two championships. Which, obviously, there’s a premium on just being a winner, and he has that. And he’s just an amazing teacher and communicator. He’s going to do his best just to get everything he can out of each player. That’s a big reason why I went with him as well.”

This offseason, the Hornets continued supplementing their young core by adding Tidjane Salaun with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft. He joins young talent like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, who were among the best players in their respective draft classes.

“[Salaun] loves being in the gym, loves to get better and loves the process,” Peterson said. “So, again, we can sleep at night knowing that he has those qualities, and then, not to mention, he has some skill to him, too. He can rebound and push. He can make his shot. So, we’re just really excited about, more than anything, his mindset and his approach to how we’re going to progress and build this thing out.”

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The Pistons have never had three players in three consecutive seasons earn rookie scale contract extensions, but that could change next year when Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren become eligible. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic details the fascinating seasons ahead for the young duo, who are playing for a front office that didn’t draft them, a team looking to be active in trades and their third head coach in as many years. Their situation is particularly tricky because if they show significant growth, it would make sense for the organization to keep them. But if either or both players stagnate, their trade value will be hampered compared to what it is now, Edwards opines. How they’re used will be worth monitoring closely ahead of the February trade deadline.
Entering his sixth season in the NBA after a year in which he was a Most Improved Player finalist, Bulls guard Coby White is transitioning to a leadership role for a franchise that looks to be getting younger, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes. White cited DeMar DeRozan‘s leadership style as a model he wants to emulate. “DeMar always led by example,” White said. “He wasn’t always the loudest guy in the room or most talkative guy in the room. But if we had a meeting, he was early. If we had a bus time, he was one of the first ones there. He was never late to a meeting. He was always ready to go. When the game came, it was always about business. And the way he took me, [Ayo Dosunmu], [Dalen Terry], Pat [Williams] under his wing, it shed light on the things that I’m looking forward to when I get older. And that can start now for me.“
Zyon Pullin has had an unorthodox start to his NBA career after going undrafted out of Florida. He earned a two-way deal immediately from the Heat but was waived to make room for Josh Christopher. This week, he was re-signed to an Exhibit 10 deal, signaling Miami still wants him in the organization. Ira Winderman of South Florida Sun Sentinel thinks Pullin will have an opportunity to compete for a two-way deal this fall. As we detailed on Tuesday, that may be an uphill battle, as he’d have to beat out Isaiah Stevens, Dru Smith and possibly Alondes Williams for that final spot. Smith is currently under contract in that two-way slot, while Williams is an unrestricted free agent. Pullin and Stevens are both on Exhibit 10 deals.

Heat Sign Zyon Pullin To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 5th, 2024 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Zyon Pullin has become the first player from the 2024 draft class to sign his second NBA contract, having returned to the Heat on a non-guaranteed deal. The team officially announced the signing on Monday, with Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald reporting that it’s an Exhibit 10 agreement (Twitter links).

A 6’4″ guard out of Florida, Pullin played for UC Riverside from 2019-23 before transferring to the Gators for his super-senior year. He was an All-SEC honoree in 2023/24 after averaging 15.5 points, 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per contest in 33 games (27 starts), with a shooting line of .444/.449/.847.

Pullin quickly agreed to terms with the Heat after going undrafted in June, officially signing a two-way contract with the team on the first day of the new league year on July 1. However, he didn’t see much playing time for Miami’s Summer League squad and was waived on July 25 when the club needed to open up a roster spot to sign Summer League standout Josh Christopher to a two-way deal.

Pullin’s new deal signals that the Heat still view him as a prospect they want in their system. He could be converted back to a two-way deal anytime up until the day before the regular season if he impresses in camp, but the more likely scenario is that he’s waived and becomes an affiliate player for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League team.

A player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived by his NBA team and then spends at least 60 days with his club’s G League affiliate.

Heat Sign Josh Christopher To Two-Way Contract

July 25th, 2024 at 1:27pm CST by Rory Maher

The Heat have signed free agent guard Josh Christopher to a two-way contract, the team announced (via Twitter). To create a two-way roster spot, Miami waived undrafted rookie Zyon Pullin.

Christopher is a former first-round pick (24th overall in 2021) who spent his first two NBA seasons in Houston before being traded to Memphis last summer. The Grizzlies eventually waived Christopher and his guaranteed contract for 2023/24 in late September, which also effectively declined his fourth-year team option for ’24/25.

Christopher later caught on with the Jazz, spending a few months with Utah on a two-way deal before being released in January. Despite being eligible to, he did not appear in an NBA game last season, having split the campaign with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s NBA G League affiliate, and the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s affiliate.

The 22-year-old Christopher is being rewarded for his standout playing during Las Vegas Summer League, which saw the Heat win the championship in dramatic fashion, an overtime finish over Memphis. Christopher was named the title game’s MVP after registering a team-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers. He also added four rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks.

“I think this Heat culture thing just brought the best out of me. I don’t think I’ve had a series of games better than this in my life, honestly,” said Christopher, who averaged 19.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.0 steals on .541/.525/.1.000 shooting in his six appearances in Vegas (25.9 MPG).

As for Pullin, the 23-year-old point guard showed flashes during Summer League, but he also didn’t earn much playing time (11.9 MPG). The former UC-Riverside and Florida star will be an unrestricted free agent in a couple days if he clears waivers.

Dru Smith and Keshad Johnson occupy the Heat’s other two-way spots, as shown by our tracker.

Heat Notes: Stevens, Two-Way Competition, Larsson, Bisaccio, Trades

July 20th, 2024 at 11:13am CST by Tristan Tucker

Heat guard Isaiah Stevens continues to impress in Summer League after inking an Exhibit 10 contract with the organization, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Despite being undersized, Stevens is looking like a possible solution at the backup point guard position for Miami while registering a league-high 8.5 assists.

He’s a massive reason the Heat’s summer league team is dominating in Las Vegas. The Heat went 4-0 in Vegas and advanced to a semifinal game against the Warriors after blowing out the Raptors 109-73 on Friday. Several players on the roster are popping and Stevens’ ability to find them in their spots is a big reason why.

“First and foremost, he’s doing his thing really,” Heat summer league coach Dan Bisaccio said. “Not listening to me, being who he is. Being a player. He does such a great job of getting our offense organized. I have complete trust in him with that. I love the fact that he really picks and chooses his opportunities when to be aggressive and when to be a play-maker. Then when we need to settle, he settles.”

Stevens has recorded 41 assists to 12 turnovers in his last five summer league performances (including the California Classic).

“I’ve been playing the point guard position a long time,” Stevens said. “So far to this point, I’ve been able to have a lot of team success in that way and I think it comes from being unselfish at the helm. Just trying to get guys opportunities, I feel like it makes them want to play with you even more, it makes them want to play harder because they know they actually have an opportunity of being rewarded at the end of a cut, when they’re open, as they’re moving. So I think it just brings the team together when that’s your style of play.”

The Heat have incredibly difficult decisions to make with their developmental players. As it stands, Miami can’t sign a 15th player on a standard contract without crossing the second apron. The Heat have also filled out their two-way roster spots with Keshad Johnson, Zyon Pullin and Dru Smith.

Pullin has shown flashes in summer league, but Stevens has played more, meaning the latter may replace the former on a two-way deal. Stevens’ Exhibit 10 deal makes him eligible to be converted to a two-way. Even still, the Heat clearly had a high grade on Pullin and broke their tradition of having players battle it out for two-way deals by giving the Florida guard one right after the draft. If he’s waived, another team may sign him.

That doesn’t even address the impressive play of Josh Christopher, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams, — the latter two finished last season on two-way deals with Miami. Swider and Williams had their qualifying offers pulled and are free to sign with other teams, but could also re-sign to Exhibit 10 deals with the Heat. Christopher is also free to sign with another team but his high-level scoring should have him in strong consideration for a two-way from Miami.

Johnson’s two-way deal is safe, and Smith is someone the organization is clearly invested in. In all, the Heat have at least seven players who are worthy of two-way consideration on their summer roster and aren’t guaranteed of funneling the four who don’t make the roster to their developmental system in Sioux Falls.

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Heat second round rookie Pelle Larsson joined first-rounder Kel’el Ware and the two-way competitors in impressing against the Raptors, Chiang observes in a separate piece. Larsson’s averaging 12.5 PPG in his last two summer league games and finishing Friday with four assists and two triples. “He’s getting more confident in his ability to attack the paint and make plays for himself and also others,” Bisaccio said. “So we’re going to continue to look for him to continue to find that confidence and continue to find his role.”
Bisaccio has been with the organization since 2014 and was rewarded for his hard work by being promoted to head coach of the Skyforce. He expressed gratitude for the Heat organization for continuing to believe in him and work with him when he went through a life-threatening illness in 2018, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes. “Coach Spo, (GM) Andy Elisburg, (president of basketball operations Pat) Riley, all these guys visited me,” Bisaccio said. “They put together flights, hotels for my family. They were in constant communication.“
The Heat aren’t in a position to make a big trade this offseason but they’ll have some optionality when the players they re-signed become trade eligible this season, Winderman writes in a separate piece. If Miami ultimately decides to part with Jimmy Butler, that’s something that becomes more feasible when all players are eligible to be traded. The same goes for any potential deals that revolve around their larger contracts like Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier or Duncan Robinson.

Heat Notes: Martin, Adebayo, Two-Ways, Swider

July 4th, 2024 at 8:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he officially passed on his $7.1MM player option for the 2024/25 season, the Heat offered Caleb Martin an extension that would have been contingent on him picking up that option, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. While the exact details of that offer are unclear, Miami could have given Martin a starting salary as high as about $18.1MM in 2025/26 based on the NBA’s rules for veteran extensions.

The Heat haven’t given up hope of retaining Martin, but they’re only about $7MM below the second apron and have no desire to surpass that threshold, so their ability to make a competitive offer is extremely limited. Although the club could technically come close to matching the $7.1MM option the 28-year-old declined for 2024/25, that significant raise for ’25/26 is no longer possible, since free agent contracts can’t increase by more than 8% annually.

A source close to Martin tells the Miami Herald duo that the forward had been hoping to secure a deal worth more than $15MM per year. While some teams have expressed interest, it doesn’t appear that any offers in that range are on the table for Martin at this point.

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It has been a fairly quiet offseason for the Heat so far, but that’s not because the team is reluctant to spend up to the second apron or use assets in trades, according to Jackson and Chiang. Three people who have been in contact with the team say Miami is maintaining its flexibility for now in case an opportunity to acquire an impact player opens up — it’s possible that sort of player could hit the trade market in the coming days or weeks, and the Heat don’t want to close the door on that possibility.
The Heat have had some trade talks with teams, including one club with “substantial” cap room, according to Jackson and Chiang. The Herald reporters don’t have details on the potential trade partner or the players who were discussed, but the Jazz and Pistons are the only clubs who still have the sort of cap room that could be considered substantial.
Bam Adebayo intends to sign the three-year contract extension that he and the Heat agreed to last week “pretty quickly” after he becomes eligible to do so on Saturday, per Jackson and Chiang. The deal will tack on three years to the two seasons left on Adebayo’s current contract and will run through 2028/29. If the cap increases by 10% in each of the next two offseasons, the star center would earn $165,348,864 on the three-year extension after making a total of $71,944,960 across the next two seasons.
In a separate story for The Herald, Chiang explores the Heat’s two-way logjam, with Dru Smith, Zyon Pullin, and Keshad Johnson currently occupying the three slots and two-way qualifying offers still out to Cole Swider and Alondes Williams. If Miami wants to bring all five players to camp, at least two would have to be there on standard or Exhibit 10 deals. Swider, who is part of the Heat’s Summer League roster, says he’s focused on developing his game, not his contract situation. “Obviously, the Heat have my rights as a restricted free agent,” Swider said. “I want to be here. But at the same time, it’s all up to the things that I can control and I’m going to bring the energy, the effort and try to lead this summer league team to have a great summer league.”

Heat Officially Sign Zyon Pullin To Two-Way Contract

July 1st, 2024 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially signed undrafted rookie free agent Zyon Pullin to a two-way contract, the team confirmed in a press release. Reporting after last week’s draft indicated the two sides had reached an agreement.

A 6’4″ guard out of Florida, Pullin played for UC Riverside from 2019-23 before transferring to the Gators for his super-senior year. He was an All-SEC honoree in 2023/24 after averaging 15.5 points, 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per contest in 33 games (27 starts), with a shooting line of .444/.449/.847.

Miami also reportedly reached a two-way agreement with Arizona forward Keshad Johnson, so he and Pullin appear poised to fill two of the team’s three two-way slots heading into the fall.

While many transactions can’t be completed during the NBA’s ongoing moratorium period, two-way signings are among the moves that can be officially finalized, so we’ll likely see plenty of them announced in the coming days.

Heat To Sign Keshad Johnson, Zyon Pullin, Bryson Warren

June 27th, 2024 at 7:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Fresh off the end of the 2024 draft, the Heat have agreed to sign a trio of undrafted free agents to new contracts.

Miami has reached agreements with Arizona forward Keshad Johnson and Florida guard Zyon Pullin on two-way contracts, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links).

A 6’7″ swingman, Johnson played for San Diego State across his first four seasons of NCAA eligibility before using his bonus senior season to transfer to the Wildcats. In 2023/24, he posted averages of 11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, with a shooting line of .530/.387/.710.

Pullin, an All-SEC honoree this past season, similarly enjoyed a five-year collegiate career. He played for UC Riverside from 2019-23, then transferred to Florida this past season. With the Gators, the 6’4″ guard averaged 15.5 points on .444/.449/.847 shooting, along with 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per contest. He started in 27 of 33 games in 2023/24.

Meanwhile, sources have informed Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter) that Miami has also agreed to sign Bryson Warren – who played on the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, before declaring for the draft – to an Exhibit 10 deal.

Warren, a 6’3″ combo guard, averaged 7.8 points, 1.9 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 17 regular season games with Sioux Falls, posting a shooting line of .381/.306/.778.

Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted into two-way deals or can set up a player to earn a bonus if he’s waived and then joins his team’s NBAGL affiliate.

Southeast Notes: Keefe, Gafford, Micic, Hornets, Pullin

June 6th, 2024 at 10:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

After getting the interim tag removed, Wizards head coach Brian Keefe is focused on continuing to build relationships within the organization, according to the Washington Post’s Ava Wallace.

“This is a relationship business,” he said. “And when you develop these relationships, then you can really dig into the stuff that we need to improve on.”

The Wizards went just 8-31 after Keefe was named interim coach, but they were impressed by his forward-thinking approach.

“We’re always going to be looking for what’s best for our group now, but also what’s best for our group going forward,” Keefe said, per The Associated Press. “One of the things I think is, how can we best use our players? And that might not be right now. That might pay off in two years from now.”

Keefe faces a different set of challenges than coaches hired by contenders, Josh Robbins of The Athletic opines. Robbins notes that it won’t easy to convince his players to play with unselfishness on offense and with effort on defense when many of those players will attempt to stand out in order to earn more lucrative contracts. It will also be tough for him to keep veteran players positive as the losses accumulate.

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After being stuck on the going-nowhere Wizards, Daniel Gafford felt a huge sense of relief when he was traded to the Mavericks, he told David Aldridge of The Athletic. “It’s more like, with me, in all honestly, I felt, just, it was a lot of weight that was just lifted off of me,” Gafford said. “Because I felt it was a situation that was going to be better for me, of course. But I hated to leave a team where I’d built a lot of relationships with. It was a good atmosphere, always, when I was in D.C. … one door closed and another door opened for me.”
Vasilije Micic embraced the challenge of an expanded role with the Hornets in his first NBA season after getting traded by the Thunder. Micic, the former EuroLeague star, is entering the second year of a three-year contract. “It was good for me,” he told HoopsHype’s Cyro Asseo de Choch. “I was very happy to get the chance, and to be honest, since I came there, I came up with an idea to face all the challenges that I could potentially face even though I was 29, even though I settled myself so well in Europe. I just wanted that challenge, and so far, it’s going OK.
A more harmonious franchise structure from top to bottom and better player development are some of the keys to turning around the Hornets, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer opines.
University of Florida guard Zyon Pullin is working out for the Heat today and the Magic on Saturday. Currently ranked No. 90 on ESPN’s Best Available list, Pullin hopes to elevate his stock to second-round consideration, he told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Definitely hope to go probably second round,” Pullin said. “Ultimately, I could see myself going somewhere in that ballpark. I’m pretty confident. I know my capabilities. I’m very realistic. I don’t like to live in a fictional world. Whatever that is at the end of the day, I’m confident that it’s just another stepping stone.”