A private dinner party for former Miami Heat big man Udonis Haslem may have led to the team signing guard Delon Wright.
Former Heat player Quentin Richardson apparently told both Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra that Miami needed to make a move for Wright.
“Q-Rich was telling Spo and [Pat Riley], ‘You need to trade for Delon. He will fit in perfectly,’” Wright recalled Thursday.
Wright’s older brother Dorell was a first-round pick by the Heat in the 2004 NBA Draft, so there is a family connection for the new Heat guard.
Spoelstra confirmed that Delon Wright was brought up at Haslem’s dinner, with multiple players vouching for him.
“During U.D.’s dinner, Q was the one who brought it up, [said], ‘Delon would be a great fit with you guys,’” Spoelstra said. “’When is it going to happen?’ Dorell all of a sudden starts chiming in. U.D. was like, ‘Bring the kid in.’ I thought it was funny calling him a kid. That’s all we feel about him because we knew him when he was so young.”
Delon Wright should bring some much-needed guard depth to Miami’s roster, especially after Josh Richardson and Terry Rozier were both injured prior to the All-Star break.
The former Wizards guard appeared in 33 games for Washington prior to being bought out. He had a small role with the team, playing just 13.8 minutes per game. With the Wizards adding both Tyus Jones and Jordan Poole this past offseason, Delon Wright became one of the odd men out in the rotation.
He revealed that his brother may be more excited for his opportunity with the Heat, showing just how much the family appreciates the organization.
“Once the buyout opportunity came, we talked about it like, ‘Yeah, it’s a no brainer, it’s time to go do it [and play for Miami],’” Delon Wright said.
It’s great to see so many respected players that spent time with the Heat vouching for Delon Wright to play with the franchise. It also helps that he knows some of what the organization is about and the standard that Riley and Spoelstra hold each of the players to.
A first-round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Delon Wright has bounced around in his NBA career, playing for the Toronto Raptors, Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons.
For his career, he averages 7.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field. It’ll be interesting to see how he factors into Miami’s rotation down the stretch of the 2023-24 season.
