The roster for at least the start of the most highly anticipated Heat training camp in several years is now seemingly set, pending one more prospect putting pen to paper.
On Friday, Clemson rookie forward Ian Schieffelin signed an Exhibit 10 contract that comes with an invitation to Heat training camp, which begins on Tuesday at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
According a source, Southern California rookie forward Ezra Ausar also agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Heat but has not yet signed his deal yet.
Presuming Ausar signs, Miami will have 21 players under contract, the most a team can carry during training camp. The Heat opted to move forward with filling its roster this week instead of plotting a pursuit of the available veteran free agents, a group including guards D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and Ryan Nembhard.
Miami has the cap space to sign any of those veterans to minimum deals if it chooses.
Russell, who would have been an attractive option at one point, has seen declines in efficiency in recent years. He appeared in 26 games (with three starts) for Dallas last season, averaging 10.2 points, 4.0 assists and 1.9 turnovers. He has shot 31.4% and 29.5% on three-pointers the past two seasons, and 39% and 40.5% from the field.
Even though the Heat has agreed to terms with 21 players, there is an important caveat: The Heat, at any time, could replace any of its four Exhibit 10 players with an NBA veteran.
Besides Schieffelin and Ausar (presuming he signs), the Heat’s other Exhibit 10 players are Louisville rookie forward J’Vonne Hadley and guard Bez Mbeng, who was claimed off waivers from Utah this week. All except Mbeng played for the Heat’s summer league team in July.
Also, there are two Heat players without fully guaranteed standard contracts who, theoretically, could be at risk of being replaced at any time – center Nick Richards, whose contract is entirely non-guaranteed, and forward Myron Gardner, who has only $500,000 of his $2.3 million contract guaranteed.
So Miami has the flexibility to add a veteran and swap out players if it chooses.
Barring a late addition, the Heat will enter camp with 14 players under standard contracts, one less than the league permits once the regular season begins: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jovic, Bobby Portis, Davion Mitchell, Tim Hardaway Jr., Klay Thompson, Dru Smith, Simone Fontecchio, Richards, Pelle Larsson, Gardner and Ryan Conwell.
The Heat is expected to be patient with its 15th roster spot, which gives Miami the ability to pounce on a player (perhaps through the buyout market) that it views as a real difference maker.
The Heat also has the maximum three players on two-way contracts: Keshad Johnson, Tre Donaldson and Vlad Goldin. And now Miami has written agreements with three players for Exhibit 10 deals and a non-written agreement with a fourth.
Schieffelin, in five Summer League games for the Heat, averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 46.7 percent from the field, 42.9 percent on threes and 6-of-6 from the foul line.
Schieffelin appeared in eight football games at Clemson last year as a graduate senior, playing 20 offensive snaps as a tight end. The year prior, he started in all 34 games with the Clemson basketball team averaging 12.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 33.4 minutes while shooting 49.5 percent from the field.
He was selected to the All-ACC Second Team and was named an ACC Player of the Week. He posted 12 double-doubles, scoring in double-figures 23 times and grabbed double-double rebounds on 16 occasions, including a career-high 20 boards over No. 4 Kentucky to become the only men’s Division I player in the last 25 years to record at least 10 points, 20 rebounds and four assists in a victory against an AP Top 5 opponent.
Ausar, a 6-9 power forward, also went undrafted in June. He played two years of college basketball for East Carolina and one for Utah before finishing out his college career with USC, where he averaged 14.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 32 games.
The Heat offered an Exhibit 10 contract to Kansas wing player Tre White weeks ago, but he plans to return to Kansas for a fifth year of eligibility after receiving a temporary injunction in an Indiana court, on3.com reported Friday.
If the Heat’s Exhibit 10 players don’t get a two-way contract or standard contract in training camp (and they will all be underdogs to achieve that), Miami will waive them before the start of the regular season and likely try to move them to its G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
The Heat typically swaps out multiple Exhibit 10 players during the course of training camp, allowing them to cycle several prospects to Sioux Falls.
This story was originally published September 25, 2026 at 5:26 PM.
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.