MIAMI — The Miami Heat made a waiver claim Tuesday, adding guard Bez Mbeng to a training camp roster that now stands at 19 players, two below the NBA offseason maximum.

For the Heat, it essentially was a case of bringing back a prospect, with Mbeng having played most of last season with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Mbeng was signed Sept. 8 by the Hornets to an Exhibit 10 contract, a move designed to move his rights to their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. He then was waived by them Sunday in advance of the Hornets’ trade bringing in Buddy Hield and Ryan Nembhard from the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, a move that put the Hornets at the NBA offseason limit of 21 players under contract.

The Heat then successfully won their waiver claim at 5 p.m. Tuesday, signing Mbeng to an Exhibit 10 contract that will have him in play for a return to their own G League affiliate.

Unlike players who are signed to Exhibit 10 deals and then immediately waived, Mbeng, a 6-foot-4 guard who went undrafted out of Yale in 2025, is expected to participate in Heat training camp, which opens next Tuesday, after Monday’s media day at Kaseya Center.

Mbeng appeared in 15 games last season with the Utah Jazz, starting five, signed off the Skyforce roster on March 13, amid the Jazz’s push for lottery seeding. The Jazz then bypassed picking up their team option on Mbeng on June 29.

While with the Jazz, the 2025 Ivy League player of the year went for 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists off the bench last April in a 147-101 victory over the similarly tanking Memphis Grizzlies.

In his 15 games with the Jazz last season, Mbeng averaged 8.1 points, 4.1 assists to just 1.5 turnovers, and 2.3 steals per game, but shot only .194 on 3-pointers and .640 from the foul line.

Mbeng has a history as a defensive presence, the Ivy League’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 and ’25.

In 30 games for Sioux Falls last season, Mbeng averaged six points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, two steals and 0.5 blocks in 29 minutes per game.

Players on Exhibit 10 contracts can receive up to a $91,000 bonus if cut during training camp, provided they spend at least 60 days in the G League. Salary for such players does not count during camp to the salary cap, or the hard cap the Heat will play this season under due to the machinations of the trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Heat enter camp with 13 players under full or partially guaranteed standard contracts, with free-agent center Nick Richards with a contract that becomes guaranteed on opening night.

The Heat open their regular season on Oct. 21 against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.

Where the Heat roster currently stands ahead of next week’s start of training camp:

Standard contracts (14, 15 maximum allowed during regular season): Bam Adebayo, Antetokounmpo, Ryan Conwell, Simone Fontecchio, Myron Gardner, Tom Hardaway Jr., Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, Davion Mitchell, Bobby Portis Jr., Richards, Klay Thompson, Dru Smith, Andrew Wiggins.

Two-way contracts (3. maximum of three allowed): Tre Donaldson, Vlad Goldin, Keshad Johnson.

Exhibit 10 camp tryout contracts (2): J’Vonne Hadley, Mbeng.

Deal finalized

Pen was put to paper Tuesday on the four-year, $60 million extension for Larsson that begins with the 2027-28 season. The deal was finalized after Larsson passed his Heat physical.

By rule, Larsson now cannot be traded for six months due to mechanism utilized in the extension, a restriction that pushes his no-trade clause beyond the Feb. 11 NBA trade deadline.

The fourth year of Larsson’s deal is a mutual option, meaning that either the Heat or Larsson have the right to opt into that 2030-31 season that holds a $16.6 million salary, making it almost assured that the option year will be put into effect.