Mouhamed Gueye isn’t the only Coug getting his shot at the NBA. Justin Powell, who played one season at WSU after transferring from Tennessee, signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Miami Heat, this year’s NBA Finals runner-up. Powell will join the Heat for its summer league season, which begins July 3 agains the Lakers in Sacramento.
What’s an Exhibit 10 deal, you might ask? Great question! As The Spokesman-Review’s Colton Clark reports:
He landed a deal with the Heat less than an hour after the draft’s conclusion and signed an Exhibit 10 contract – a one-year, minimum-salary deal that gives NBA teams the option to convert the contract to a two-way contract if that change is made before the season begins.
That’s basically the explainer when you Google “NBA Exhibit 10 Contract.” Seriously:
Anyway, The Sporting News has a bit more:
An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum salary contract with no other bonuses. The Exhibit 10 attachment gives NBA teams the ability to convert the contract into a Two-Way deal, but only if they do it before the start of the regular season.
They are usually non-guaranteed, allowing teams to waive the player without taking a cap hit. In that situation, the player would earn a bonus of between $5,000 to $50,000 if they remain with the team’s G League affiliate for 60 days.
Exhibit 10s are handy to teams for a couple of reasons. For one, they allow the flexibility to either retain the player on a minimum deal or convert the contract to a Two-Way depending on their performance. They also allow for the player to be waived at no cap penalty if the team isn’t sold on their potential.
Many Cougs, including head coach Kyle Smith, expected Powell back for his seniors season. When Powell announced he was entering—and remaining in—the NBA Draft, it caught a lot of us by surprise. But as Bryce wrote on Thursday, Powell impressed some scouts and while he wasn’t one of the 60 draft selections, he still gets an opportunity to show what he can offer.
Plus, as Clark reported, the Heat have a tendency to let undrafted players blossom, as seven Heat players in this year’s playoffs never heard their names called on draft day.
So best of luck to Justin Powell on his pro journey!