Heat sign second former Magic G League prospect, camp roster at 18

MIAMI – For the second time this summer, the Miami Heat have turned to the Orlando Magic’s farm system to add a prospect for training camp.

In the wake of signing Magic G League forward Myron Gardner to a two-way contract last month, after several solid efforts from Gardner for the Heat in summer league, the Heat on Wednesday night announced the signing of Magic G League guard Ethan Thompson to an Exhibit 10 camp tryout contract.

The move with Thompson likely will be to seed the Heat’s G League program. Earlier Wednesday, the Heat’s affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, announced that they had acquired the G League rights to Thompson.

The addition of Thompson positions the Heat with 18 players for their training camp, which opens Sept. 30 at Florida Atlantic University.

Teams are allowed to carry as many as 21 players under contract during the offseason, before reducing for the regular season to a maximum 15 under standard contract and three under two-way contract. The Heat have one of each of those slots available, but are expected to enter the season with only 14 under standard contract due to their position against the punitive NBA luxury tax.

Under standard contract to the Heat are: Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell, Kel’el Ware, Davion Mitchell, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Haywood Highsmith, Pelle Larsson, Simone Fontecchio, Terry Rozier, Keshad Johnson, and first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis.

Under two-way contracts to the Heat are Gardner and former Florida Atlantic University 7-footer Vlad Goldin.

In addition to Thompson, the Heat have been linked to an agreement for a training-camp tryout for undrafted Utah State guard Gabe Madsen, which would put the current projected camp roster at 18.

Ahead of signing Thompson on the NBA level Wednesday night, the Heat earlier in the day acquired his G League returning-player rights and a second-round pick in the 2025 G League Draft from the Osceola Magic, in exchange for the returning-player G League rights to forward Justin Champagnie, a first-round pick in the 2025 G League Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2026 G League Draft.

Thompson, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound guard out of Oregon State, went undrafted in the 2021. He then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Chicago Bulls and was allocated to the G League Windy City Bulls ahead of the 2021-22 season, where he averaged 12.2 points on .427 shooting, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks. He returned to Windy City in 2022-23 and posted splits of 17 points on .456 shooting, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocks.

On October 17, 2023, Thompson had his G League rights traded to the Mexico City Capitanes and had a career year, averaging 23.3 points on .428 shooting, 4.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.4 blocks. He earned third-team All-G League honors and was a G League Next Up Game participant at NBA All-Star Weekend.

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Thompson’s G League rights were acquired by the Osceola Magic, where he averaged 17.8 points on .415 shooting, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks.

Last month, Thompson appeared in five Las Vegas NBA Summer League games with Orlando before being waived, averaging 10.0 points on .292 shooting, 1.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks.

Thompson, a California native, is a member of Puerto Rico’s national program.