The Heat have claimed D.J. Stewart Jr. off waivers, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Stewart had been in training camp with Dallas, but was waived on Wednesday.
Stewart is a 23-year-old guard who went undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2021 and spent most of his rookie season playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate. He eventually signed a two-way contract with San Antonio in March, though he didn’t appear in an NBA game with the Spurs.
In 36 total NBAGL regular season appearances for the Skyforce and the Austin Spurs last season, Stewart averaged 17.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .480/.361/.764 shooting in 34.1 minutes per contest.
The Skyforce still hold Stewart’s G League rights, and the plan is to have him return to Sioux Falls after he’s waived by Miami. The Heat claimed him off waivers so that they could give him an Exhibit 10 bonus for spending at least 60 days with the Skyforce, Chiang notes.
Let’s gooo! I was salty about losing Darius Days, but I also wished we didnt lose DJ Stewart or last year, and liked him more than Jamal Cain, so awesome to have him back in the system at least, and hopefully it leads to him getting the last roster spot when the time comes for them to sign a 15th guy, although I would have to expect someone to give him an opportunity, with so many teams that could use help at the 4/on the wing
Dallas shouldnt have let him go, in my opinion