The Heat have signed free agent guard Ethan Thompson to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (subscription required).
While Thompson has yet to appear in an NBA regular season game, he has now signed five NBA contracts since going undrafted out of Oregon State in 2021 and spent the last two-plus months of the 2024/25 season on a two-way deal with the Magic.
A G League veteran, the 6’5″ shooting guard has played in between 43 and 49 NBAGL games in each of the past four seasons, spending time with the Windy City Bulls, Mexico City Capitanes, and Osceola Magic. In 47 outings for Orlando’s G League team last season, he averaged 17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in 33.4 minutes per game, posting a shooting line of .415/.396/.805. He knocked down a career-high 3.3 three-pointers per contest.
An Exhibit 10 contract can be converted to a two-way deal before the regular season begins, and Miami does have an open two-way slot. However, it appears likely that the Heat are signing Thompson with an eye toward having him join their G League affiliate as a returning rights player — the Sioux Falls Skyforce made a trade with Osceola on Wednesday to acquire Thompson’s rights (Twitter link).
If Thompson is waived before the regular season begins and then spends at least 60 days with the Skyforce, he’d earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his standard NBAGL salary.
The Heat now have 17 players officially under contract, including 14 on fully or partially guaranteed standard deals, one on an Exhibit 10, and a pair on two-ways. They also still have a qualifying offer on the table for restricted free agent Dru Smith.