Dru Smith

Heat Notes: Wiggins, Jovic, Ware, Smith

October 5th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the trade sending him from Golden State to Miami last winter, Andrew Wiggins struggled to get acclimated to his new NBA home, dealing with a series of minor injuries down the stretch as the Heat adjusted to life without Jimmy Butler. According to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, Wiggins brought his family to live with him in Miami this offseason and spent the summer getting more comfortable in South Florida — now he’s hoping that comfort level translates to the court.

“When I first got here, it was more so just trying to get situated,” Wiggins said. “I’m in a new situation, new players, new coaches, new systems. Just trying to find my spots and get situated within the team. Now, just getting a summer under my belt, being at the facility almost every day, being with the team, the coaches, any chance to build up that chemistry and be comfortable with the team and with what we have going on.

“… My family definitely makes me a happier person,” he added. “I love being around them. Just being here in Miami with my family has been the perfect spot for me.”

As Chiang writes, Wiggins had a strong training camp and got off to a good start in the Heat’s preseason opener vs. Orlando on Saturday, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 12 minutes of action. Head coach Erik Spoelstra is optimistic about what the former No. 1 overall pick will be able to bring to the Heat after spending the full offseason with the team.

“I do like this opportunity that he’s had in late July, August, September to really prepare,” Spoelstra said. “He was in the gym, so we were able to see him a whole lot more, get to know each other more. He’s in very good shape. He’s feeling comfortable with what we’re trying to do. He has an opportunity to be such an impactful two-way player, both ends of the court.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

Nikola Jovic earned the start alongside Bam Adebayo in the Heat’s frontcourt on Saturday, with Kel’el Ware coming off the bench. That was a notable decision, Chiang observes for The Herald, since Ware started in 36 of his final 38 regular season games in 2024/25, plus all four of Miami’s playoff games. As Chiang points out, lineups featuring Ware and Adebayo outscored opponents by 4.6 points per 100 possessions last season, whereas Jovic was removed from the starting lineup early in the season due to underwhelming results.
Jovic, who signed a rookie scale extension ahead of Miami’s preseason opener, played well on Saturday, scoring 10 points in 12 minutes while also chipping in three rebounds, a pair of assists, and a block. Spoelstra expressed enthusiasm about Jovic’s potential to continue establishing himself as a long-term building block for the club. “We’re really excited for Niko,” the Heat coach said, per Chiang. “It’s been a fun process to see his maturation and improvement, learning how to become a professional. We drafted him at such a young age and then you’re seeing him grow and mature right before your eyes. He’s earned this. He’s put in a great deal of work.”
Roughly nine-and-a-half months after tearing his left Achilles, Dru Smith was back on the court for the Heat on Saturday vs. Orlando, notes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). It’s typically an injury that requires upwards of a full calendar year of recovery time, but Smith showed no ill effects in his return, registering a team-high +11 mark in 10 minutes on the court. He’s “very much in the mix” for a regular season rotation role, says Winderman.

Heat Notes: Powell, Achiuwa, Rozier, Smith, Scouts

September 30th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Norman Powell had the best season of his career with the Clippers, but wasn’t selected for the All-Star Game. Traded to the Heat during the offseason, Powell enters this season with extra motivation, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

“I definitely have a chip from feeling like I could have made it,” Powell said. “I should have made it last [season]. It added fuel to the fire this summer on how I am going to capitalize on this [season], that I have to make sure that I’m a surefire pick for an All-Star selection. Finding out that it is in L.A. would definitely be a little punch there to make it. To play All-Star Weekend in Intuit would be amazing. But yeah, I’m definitely excited about the opportunity to go at it again and have a chance to finally get selected.”

We have more on the Heat:

Terry Rozier had the worst season of his career last year and fell out of the rotation. The veteran guard, who has one year left on his contract, comes into this season with something to prove. “I don’t know (why things went sour),” he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “I was being a human. I’m glad I can still play basketball and do what I love and ready for a turnaround this season.”
Dru Smith has endured major injuries during his career, most recently an Achilles tear. Yet he was re-signed in the offseason, in part because of the resiliency he’s shown, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “What he has is a superpower. I wish you could take some of that and just apply it to other players,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about Smith’s participation in practice less than a year after tearing his Achilles. “When I say superpower or superpowers, it’s a level of grit, it’s a level of fortitude, perseverance. However, you want to describe it, he has no quit in him.”
Big man Precious Achiuwa signed as a free agent on a one-year contract and indicated that familiarity played a role, Miami Heat Spain tweets. He played with Miami during his rookie season. “It was a pretty easy decision because of how well this organization represents the type of player that I am. I also took into account the high competitive level of Spo, I want to forge myself around that,” he said.
A couple of unnamed scouts gave their evaluations of Achiuwa and the Heat’s young players to Jackson, including whether Achiuwa was a better option than some of the other free agent big men the front office looked at.

Heat Notes: Herro, Jovic, Smith, Powell, Ware, Rozier

September 29th, 2025 at 10:48am CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat guard Tyler Herro suggested on Monday that his return from ankle surgery could take longer than initial projections, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Herro underwent surgery this month to alleviate posterior impingement syndrome in his left ankle with the expectation he’d miss about eight weeks.

Herro, who said he couldn’t even jump due to the ankle pain prior to surgery, said the rehab process could go a little longer.

“I’ll be back in the next eight to 12 weeks,” Herro said. “Should be a full recovery. Right now, I’m ahead of schedule as far as the swelling. I should get the stitches out in the next week.”

However, Herro told coach Erik Spoelstra that he’ll try to return on a more accelerated timetable.

“I told Spo that I’ll be back in six weeks,” Herro said. “I’m ahead of schedule.”

Here’s more from the Heat during their annual media day:

Nikola Jovic is one of the Heat players who is extension-eligible this preseason with an Oct. 20 deadline. He downplayed extension talks on Monday, Winderman tweets. Winderman speculated last week that a contract in the range of $50-60MM over four years could appeal to both sides. Jovic added that he hopes to get a chance to earn a starting job during training camp, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.
Dru Smith, who was signed to a three-year deal in August, said he’s been cleared to play in preseason games, according to Jackson. Smith suffered an Achilles tear in December.
The addition of veteran forward and proven scorer Norman Powell via trade in July came as a pleasant surprise to Spoelstra, according to Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “We’re excited to have Norm with us, his ability to put the ball in the basket. He can do it on the ball, can do it off the ball,” the coach said. “He’s been able to be efficient in a lot of different roles. He’s been part of a lot of winning teams. He’s a competitive dude, has got an edge to him. His work ethic is tremendous. We will thrilled [to get him]. There were a lot of things we planned to do this summer; that one was a little bit of a surprise.”
Second-year big man Kel’el Ware won’t be handed the starting center job. “He and Bam (Adebayo) had some good moments together. In the playoffs, it wasn’t good,” Spoelstra said. “He’s positioning himself for an important role. He’ll have to prove it; he will have to earn it.”
Terry Rozier, whose status with the team this season remains up in the air, has been preparing for the season in Miami, according to Spoelstra. “Terry has been in the gym since the middle of July,” he said. “He is in great shape, lost 10, 12 pounds. He was playing pickup anywhere he could in Miami [this summer].”
Rozier said the FBI investigation regarding suspicious bets when he played for Charlotte weighed on him initially, but is no longer a concern, according to Jackson (Twitter link). He declined to say what his attorney has told him about where that investigation stands. The NBA found no wrongdoing in its own investigation.

Southeast Notes: Bane, D. Smith, Hawks, Wizards, Hornets

September 26th, 2025 at 7:50am CST by Luke Adams

New Magic swingman Desmond Bane feels good about how he’ll fit alongside star forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, telling Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.com that he thinks his skill set “complements those guys very well” and will help “open up the floor for them to attack and do their thing.” Bane also pointed to Orlando’s roster versatility when asked why he’s confident about the team’s ability to be a contender in 2025/26.

“I think we can play so many different lineups,” he told Medina. “We have so many different handlers. We have so many different screeners. We have guys that can get baskets one-on-one when the game slows down and you get into crunch time. So we really have a lot of tools on this roster.

“It’s always easy to talk this highly at this time of the year. But once you get into December, some guys are playing well, some guys aren’t, some guys are in the rotation, some guys aren’t. That’s when teams really have a choice to come together or split. So we have a long way to go. It’s a long journey. But we got good people in the building and people that work hard and care. So I think that gives us a chance. That’s all you can ask for.”

Bane will be playing for a new team for the first time since entering the NBA in 2020 — he spent his first five professional seasons with the Grizzlies, who traded him to Orlando in June. Speaking to Medina, the 27-year-old made it clear he harbors no ill will toward his former team for ending their relationship over the summer.

“I’m rooting for Memphis 80 games out of the year,” Bane said. “I hope they do well. I got a lot of guys out of there that are up for contracts and things like that. So I want it to work out for them and that they get everything that they deserve. So I’m looking forward toward seeing how they do, and hoping for the best of them. There’s no bad blood at all.”

We have more from around the Southeast:

Heat guard Dru Smith, who tore his Achilles last December, has resumed five-on-five work, a league source tells Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). Smith re-signed with Miami this summer on a three-year, minimum-salary deal, though only the first season is guaranteed.
The Hawks put out a press release this week announcing several hires and promotions in their basketball operations department. Most notably, Brittni Donaldson has moved from an assistant coaching role to the front office as Atlanta’s director of basketball development, methodology, and integration, while Mychel Thompson (Klay Thompson‘s brother) has been hired as a pro scout.
While Wizards general manager Will Dawkins assured fans on Wednesday that the front office has a “very clear vision” for its rebuild, he offered few specifics about the plan to turn the team from one of the league’s worst into a legitimate contender, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. With that in mind, Robbins reads between the lines of Dawkins’ comments in an effort to highlight the primary components of the Wizards’ approach to rebuilding, including casting a wide net for young talent, maintaining financial flexibility, and doing a good job scouting their own players.
In a mailbag for The Charlotte Observer (subscription required), Rod Boone explains why he views Collin Sexton and Mason Plumlee as strong candidates to start for the Hornets and evaluates whether an in-season Miles Bridges trade is likely, among other topics.

Dru Smith ‘On A Great Trajectory’ In Return From Achilles Tear

August 20th, 2025 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

After landing a new contract with the Heat over the weekend, the next challenge for Dru Smith is to be ready to participate without restrictions when training camp opens September 30, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Smith is recovering from an Achilles tear that ended his season prematurely in December. He tells Chiang that he has already been involved in some contact work and hopes to be cleared soon for five-on-five scrimmages.

“Honestly, it’s all been going really well,” Smith said. “I feel like I’ve been on a great trajectory as far as the rehab stuff goes. I’ve started to do some contact stuff now. I haven’t jumped fully back into five on five. I would say probably here in the next few weeks or so. I think it’s all just basically going to be how I respond to the more and more live sessions that I get in. I think the goal, obviously, is to be ready by camp. And I think that as of right now, with no setback, that’s kind of what we’re looking at.”

Smith had established himself as an important part of Miami’s rotation before the injury and appeared to be on the verge of being promoted from a two-way deal to a standard contract. The 27-year-old guard averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 14 games last season, and coach Erik Spoelstra was regularly using him as part of his closing lineup.

The Heat kept Smith on the roster following the injury, even though it wouldn’t have affected the team’s salary cap to replace him with a healthy player. He became a restricted free agent when Miami extended a qualifying offer in late June and continued to work out with the team throughout the summer. A roster opening emerged last Friday when Haywood Highsmith was traded to Brooklyn.

“It was obviously a little stressful and things like that,” Smith said. “I think any time, whenever you have nothing signed and nothing set in stone, I think it’s just a little worrisome. But overall I think we love this organization and we’re just excited to be able to be back and be a part of this.”

Smith’s relationship with the Heat dates back to 2021, when he signed a training camp contract. He got his first two-way deal the following year and has spent at least part of every season with the team despite injury setbacks and other obstacles. Miami has waived Smith four times, but keeps bringing him back.

“I’m extremely appreciative of an organization that believes in me the way that they have up to this point,” he said. “But also I think, obviously, this hasn’t been easy. There have been a lot of days where I’ve questioned whether this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I have amazing people around me.”

After playing 38 combined games in his first three seasons — 10 of them with Brooklyn — Smith is hoping to remain healthy enough to finally prove himself as a full-time NBA player. Offseason moves have left Miami with a crowded backcourt, but Smith is eager to seize the opportunity after recovering from two serious injuries (he tore his ACL in November 2023).

“Honestly, the biggest challenge from this rehab specifically was just the mental part of it,” he said. “Just really having to lean in on my faith and things like that and just understand for whatever reason, this is where my story was supposed to go. So just continuing to attack with a positive attitude. I think that was probably the toughest part because there are definitely days in there where it just seems like I’ve been rehabbing for two years at this point.”

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Miami Heat
Dru Smith

Heat Notes: Roster, Highsmith, Smith, Ware

August 18th, 2025 at 8:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Following the trade of Haywood Highsmith to the Nets and the signing of Dru Smith to a standard contract over the weekend, the Heat have 14 players on the standard roster and can’t sign a 15th player to a veteran minimum contract without crossing the luxury tax threshold, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes.

Miami currently stands approximately $1.7MM under the luxury tax threshold and $7.2MM below the first apron. Miami would need to wait until early December to sign a 15th player to a prorated standard minimum deal and stay below the tax. However, they could achieve that earlier by making another trade or using the waive-and-stretch provision on a contract, most likely Terry Rozier‘s deal if they choose that route.

Miami also has another two-way spot available on its roster.

Here’s more on the Heat:

By swapping out Highsmith for Smith, Miami’s roster is even more imbalanced, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. The Heat are thin at center, power forward and the point but heavy on wings. Kel’el Ware is the only true center on the roster, while Tyler Herro — who has spent a good portion of his career at shooting guard — projects as the team’s floor leader.
Regarding the Highsmith trade, Winderman notes that Smith’s contract will count less than half for cap/tax purposes than Highsmith’s deal would have. That was the primary motivation for the trade. It also give the front office the opportunity to add another big man down the line. Ultimately, it could come down to how Smith performs in his return. Smith is expected to be ready early in the upcoming season after suffering an Achilles tear in December.
Did you miss the Smith signing? Get all the details here.

Heat Sign Dru Smith To Three-Year Contract

August 16th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:00pm: Smith has officially re-signed with Miami, per a team press release.

5:49pm: Restricted free agent guard Dru Smith will remain with the Heat on a three-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal has a total value of $7.9MM, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), which suggests it’ll be worth the veteran’s minimum ($7,898,151). 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 frontcourt, 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 back 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.

Southeast Notes: D. Smith, Heat, Wizards, Djurisic

July 29th, 2025 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

While Dru Smith had been considered the favorite to claim the Heat‘s final two-way slot, that can’t actually happen, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, since a CBA rule prohibits a player from being on a two-way contract with the same team for four seasons.

Smith hasn’t spent the entirety of the past three years on two-way deals with Miami, but he has been on a two-way contract for at least part of each of the past three seasons since 2022/23, making him ineligible to do so again in ’25/26.

The Heat did tender Smith a qualifying offer in June, but that offer is for a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a small partial guarantee (approximately $102K), rather than another two-way deal. Miami has just 14 players on standard contracts for now, so Smith could be the club’s 15th man, but team salary is already over the luxury tax threshold, so it’s unclear whether or not the front office plans to carry a full 15-man roster into the regular season.

Meanwhile, there’s still a two-way spot open on the Heat’s roster alongside Vladislav Goldin and Myron Gardner.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

It hasn’t been an especially eventful offseason for the Heat — they’ve made modest additions like Norman Powell, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Simone Fontecchio, but will bring back a roster pretty similar to last year’s group. With that in mind, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel suggests that internal improvement represents Miami’s best hope of taking a step forward and identifies Andrew Wiggins, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier, and Nikola Jovic as a few of the top candidates to give the team more in 2025/26 than they did in ’24/25.
Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are the only two players on the Wizards‘ roster who are older than 26 or earning more than $14MM in 2025/26, according to Varun Shankar of The Washington Post, who says the front office views the two veterans as positive influences and potential role models for the team’s younger players. Acquiring Middleton and McCollum also put Washington in position to create significant 2026 cap room, since both players are on expiring deals.
Nikola Djurisic, a 2024 second-round pick who signed his first NBA contract earlier this month with the Hawks, was left off Serbia’s roster for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament. As Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com relays (via Twitter), Serbian head coach Svetislav Pesic referred to the 21-year-old forward as part of “the future of Serbian basketball” in explaining that decision. “There was a thought to include him (on the roster) as well, but we have a lot of experienced players in that position,” Pesic said. “Let him take a break from everything now. He spent a whole year in America.”

Heat Notes: Spoelstra, Roster Spots, Smith, Jakucionis

July 18th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra doesn’t put much stock in the idea of the Eastern Conference being wide open, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

“You can’t think that just because there have been some changes in rosters or some injuries that, ‘Oh, now we have a chance,’” Spoestra said. “That’s kind of a loser’s mentality. We want to compete at the highest level regardless of who’s out there.”

Instead, Spoelstra and the Heat staff are focused on figuring out what went wrong last season, including the team’s 8-17 record in close games, the third-worst mark in the league. The Heat also led the league with 22 blown double-digit leads and 21 blown fourth-quarter leads.

“Those close games are something that we’ve really analyzed,” he said. “That can change the trajectory of your season if you handle those moments of truth better, if you have a few more wins out of those groupings of games that were very winnable with fourth-quarter leads and that kind of stuff.”

Spoelstra feels that the team is heading into the coming season with a renewed focus and commitment to figuring out how to succeed.

“You can feel the energy, you can feel the excitement building,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be all there right now. But look, it’s happening organically. I feel it myself, the staff feels it, the players feel it.”

We have more from Miami:

The Heat have an open roster spot, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to fill it, Chiang writes in a mailbag for the Miami Herald. Miami is currently around $1.3MM over the luxury tax line and approximately $4.2MM below the first apron. Chiang writes that the goal for this season is to finish below the tax line, thereby dodging the repeater tax after spending the last two seasons as a taxpaying team. Chiang believes that Miami making a trade to cut salary sometime before the trade deadline is more likely than the team filling the 15th roster spot heading into the regular season. The Heat have until the end of the season to get below the luxury tax if they want to avoid the repeater tax.
Not only do the Heat have an open standard roster spot, but they also have a pair of two-way openings. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that after a disappointing Summer League showing, they may have to wait to add another prospect to the roster alongside Vladislav Goldin, who is currently the only player on a two-way deal for Miami. Winderman notes that one spot is expected to go to Dru Smith, who has a qualifying offer, once he recovers from his Achilles tear.
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis called his play at the Las Vegas Summer League a work in progress. “I’m adapting to the game. It’s a little bit different,” he said. “I’m just trying to control what I can control to give my 100% and work on the defensive end. I’m trying to get the rhythm back.” One thing that’s important for the rookie is not overindexing or getting too high or low based on whether shots fall: “It’s basketball. One day, you miss. Another day, you make. I’m working on that.”

Free Agency Notes: Rockets, Ty. Jones, Heat, Raptors, More

June 30th, 2025 at 1:07pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets are diligently working secure meetings with Dorian Finney-Smith, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard when free agency gets underway at 5:00 pm CT, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Houston is viewed as the frontrunner to land Finney-Smith after the veteran forward declined his $15.4MM player option and didn’t immediately work out a new deal with the Lakers. Marc Stein has reported multiple times that the Rockets are prepared to offer the 32-year-old a four-year deal worth most of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Alexander-Walker, meanwhile, is expected to leave Minnesota after the Timberwolves agreed to lucrative new contracts with Naz Reid and Julius Randle. The Hawks have been rumored as the favorite to acquire the versatile guard, but several teams are said to be interested in his services.

Atlanta is also rumored to have interest in Kennard, who is the third-most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history at 43.8%. He has spent the past two-plus seasons in Memphis, but is expected to leave the Grizzlies in free agency.

Here are a few more free agency-related notes and rumors:

The Knicks could be a suitor for point guard Tyus Jones, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link). “Tyus Jones is a name that I’m keeping an eye on,” Begley said. “Last summer, there was mutual interest…Jones was even willing to take a pay cut to come to New York. He ended up choosing Phoenix thinking it would be a very good situation for him — didn’t work out, so he’s back on the market.” New York can likely only offer the taxpayer mid-level exception or the veteran’s minimum, Begley notes.
The Magic also expressed prior interest in Tyus Jones and he could be a good fit with Orlando depending on how much money he’s seeking in free agency, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. If it’s not Jones, the Magic will likely look to add a different veteran point guard to improve their shooting and offense, Robbins writes.
Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald released a guide for some of the options the Heat could explore in free agency. According to Chiang, guard Dru Smith is expected to return to Miami on a two-way deal after he was issued a two-way qualifying offer, but he has yet to accept that QO. Smith was on the verge of being promoted to a standard contract last season before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in late December.
As of now, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca expects the Raptors to be “fairly quiet” in free agency (Twitter link). Toronto will likely fill out the end of its roster with minimum-salary deals. A veteran extension for starting center Jakob Poeltl remains a possibility as well, Grange adds.
Zach Kram of ESPN.com lists seven “underrated players” who are about to hit the open market, including Chris Boucher, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Trent Jr.

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