Dru Smith will remain with the Heat on a three-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
It has a total value of $7.9MM, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). A source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the first year of the deal is fully guaranteed, while the final two seasons carry conditional guarantees (Twitter link).
Miami opened a roster spot to sign Smith by trading Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn on Friday. Unloading Highsmith’s $5.6MM salary enabled the Heat to add Smith and stay under the cap, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).
The 27-year-old guard appeared to be on his way to a standard contract with a strong start to last season, but he suffered an Achilles tear in December. Even though he remained inactive, the team kept him on a two-way contract for the rest of the season.
Heat officials are optimistic that Smith will be fully recovered from the injury in time for the October 22 season opener or shortly afterward, Jackson adds in a full story on the signing.
Appearing in 14 games last season, Smith averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 19.1 minutes per night with .508/.533/.750 shooting numbers. His improvement as a three-point shooter led to his expanded role, and Jackson points out that he logged double-digit minutes in eight straight games before the injury and played the entire fourth quarter in five of his last seven games.
Smith began his career with Miami in 2022 on a two-way contract, then went to Brooklyn later that season on a two-way deal after being waived. He returned to the Heat in the summer of 2023 and was converted to a standard contract before the start of the season. However, that campaign was cut short by his first untimely injury, as he suffered a third-degree ACL sprain in November.
Miami extended a qualifying offer to Smith in June, but league rules prevented him from signing another two-way contract with the team.
A report earlier today suggested that the Heat had interest in adding size to their roster, with an eye on free agents Trey Lyles and Kai Jones. Jones reportedly made a good impression during workouts in Miami this week.
Jackson believes Smith’s signing will put an end to any pursuit of Lyles or Jones. The Heat don’t have much depth in the front court, but Jackson states that the need might be addressed with a trade rather than another free agent signing.
The Heat are back to 14 players with standard contracts and won’t be able to add a 15th player until later in the season without moving into tax territory.
Jackson notes that Smith, newly re-signed Davion Mitchell and first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis are all natural point guards. However, they could all come off the bench if coach Erik Spoelstra decides to use Tyler Herro and Norman Powell as his starting backcourt.