In light of trading big man Thomas Bryant to the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat have two open roster spots at the moment. Because the NBA prohibits teams from having fewer than 14 players on their standard roster for more than two weeks at a time, the clock is ticking on the Heat to make an addition to their roster.
According to NBA reporter Evan Sidery, guard Dru Smith is the favorite to fill one of the Heat’s open roster spots at this time.
The favorite to fill one of Miami’s two open roster spots is Dru Smith.
Smith is another undrafted player development success story for the Heat averaging 8.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 53.3% on threes over their past five games. pic.twitter.com/vGwU6UTEJU
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) December 15, 2024
Smith is already a member of the Heat, but he’s on a two-way deal and has spent somewhat limited time with Miami thus far in the 2024-25 regular season. The Heat have played 23 games since the start of the campaign, yet Smith has suited up in just 10 of those contests.
Granted, Smith received quite a bit of playing time in Miami’s most recent game against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 12. He was on the court for longer than any Heat player outside of big man Bam Adebayo, and he totaled 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in a bout Miami won by 10 points.
Smith saw significant action in Miami’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 8 as well. He reached double digits in points in that game too and knocked down half of his six 3-point attempts.
Maybe it’s not merely a coincidence that the Heat have been playing some of their best basketball of the season recently with Smith getting more opportunities to see the floor. Miami’s current winning streak of four games is a season-high, and the team is now within striking distance of a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference.
Considering the level at which Smith as well as the Heat have played lately, perhaps it would be in the best interest of Miami to upgrade the 26-year-old’s contract from a two-way to a standard deal. It should also be interesting to find out how much run time he gets in Miami’s next regular-season contest, which will be against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 16.
