Heat to temporarily fill one of two open roster spots by signing Jamaree Bouyea to 10-day deal

Tuesday afternoon’s trade of Dewayne Dedmon left the Miami Heat with 13 players on standard contracts and two open roster spots. It didn’t take long for the Heat to (temporarily) fill one of those openings.

Just hours after trading Dedmon and a 2028 second-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for cash considerations, the Heat agreed to sign developmental guard Jamaree Bouyea to a 10-day contract, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald.

Bouyea, 23, is expected to sign his 10-day deal with the Heat on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline. He’s expected to be available for Wednesday night’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers at Miami-Dade Arena.

Bouyea, 23, went undrafted last year out of San Francisco. He has impressed as a member of the Heat’s G League affiliate this season, averaging 19.5 points on 52 percent shooting from the field but just 28.6 percent shooting from three-point range, 5.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.5 steals and one block per game in 15 appearances for the Sioiux Falls Skyforce.

Bouyea was also part of the Heat’s summer league team this year, signing an Exhibit 10 contract with Miami in July. He was waived just before the start of the regular season before agreeing to stay within the Heat’s developmental program and play for the Skyforce.

Bouyea (6-2, 180) averaged 17.3 points while shooting 50 percent from the field, 37 percent on threes and 75.4 percent from the foul line, 3.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game last season in his fifth college season at San Francisco granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He earned All-WCC First Team honors in each of his final two college seasons.

Bouyea’s arrival comes at a time that the Heat is in need of backcourt depth with guards Kyle Lowry (left knee soreness) and Victor Oladipo (right ankle sprain) ruled out for Wednesday’s matchup against the Pacers. The Heat announced Tuesday that Lowry will miss at least the next three games before being further evaluated and Oladipo remains day-to-day.

With Bouyea expected to sign his 10-day contract on Wednesday, he’ll be eligible to remain on the Heat’s roster just beyond the mid-February All-Star break. The 10-day clock is put on pause during the break.

NBA teams are permitted to carry 13 players for only up to two weeks before being required to add a 14th. Bouyea’s signing will temporarily bring the Heat’s roster back up to 14 players, leaving one open roster spot ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.

A player can sign up to two 10-day deals before either being converted to a standard contract or waived.

With each 10-day contract paying about $100,000, the Heat still stands about $4.8 million under the tax line after unloading Dedmon’s salary.

That cushion under the tax line creates flexibility for the Heat to convert undrafted rookie center Orlando Robinson from a two-way contract to a standard contract, add a player in a deal before Thursday’s trade deadline and/or in the free agent and buyout market afterward.

If Robinson is indeed converted to a standard contract, Bouyea is an option to fill the void Robinson leaves behind in one of the Heat’s two two-way contract slots. Forward Jamal Cain is Miami’s other two-way contract player.