5:25pm: The signing is official, the team tweets.
12:10pm: The Heat have agreed to re-sign free agent forward Haywood Highsmith, agent Jerry Dianis tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Highsmith will receive a two-year, $11MM deal to remain in Miami, per Wojnarowski. The full amount is guaranteed, with no team or player option on the second year, Woj adds (Twitter link).
“We’ve been consistent with Miami with how Haywood felt,” Dianis told Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). “And we felt he wanted to be in Miami. This deal memorializes that.”
Highsmith, who is 6’7″ with a seven-foot wingspan, earned a rotation role in Miami over the last two seasons due primarily due to his defense. However, he has gradually developed into more of a threat on the offensive end, having set new career highs in points per game (6.1), field-goal percentage (46.5%), and three-point percentage (39.6%) while averaging 20.7 minutes per contest across 66 games (26 starts) in 2023/24.
The No. 36 free agent on our top-50 list, Highsmith reportedly drew interest from rival suitors during free agency. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), the Bucks and Suns – both of whom were limited to minimum-salary offers – were among the teams pursuing the 27-year-old, with Damian Lillard joining Milwaukee’s recruiting efforts.
However, Highsmith had spoken multiple times in the spring about his desire to remain in Miami. The Heat were limited in their ability to offer much more than the two-year, $11MM contract they put on the table due to their proximity to the second tax apron — and their desire to remain below that apron.
According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), the club projects to have about $1.5MM in breathing room below the second apron, with 14 players on guaranteed contracts. That suggests, barring additional roster moves, that the 15th roster spot may remain open entering the season.
Let’s gooo
This was unfathomable a couple of weeks ago. There was a world where they could have kept both Caleb and Highsmith, which would have been insanity, but it’s great to have him back; it was desperately needed…
I know the Heat want to keep “flexibility,” and not fill that 15th man spot, but that has hurt them so many times…there are several options still remaining; I’d love to get someone else in addition, especially for depth purposes, especially after losing Jamal Cain, and b/c I think it’s a little early to assume Keshad Johnson can play that spot right away
Still though, this eases some of my qualms for now
Lots of teams are going to leave that 15th spot open this year.
Players did a bad job not negotiating harder against the 2nd apron.
Hence,I don’t think that majority of the players care enough to discuss, etc recent CBA’s ….. seems like, they leave it mostly to those in the lead, CP3, CJ, etc – who’ll focus on their veteran scale salaries first, of course.
More than a few posted in this site, that the recent CBA’s have effectively reduced the middle class …. very soon, all teams will have very few max contacts and a lot of minimum contacts.
Last name should’ve been Jahblomi
Heat definitely needed Highsmith signing. Also, They need to hit on one of the summer league unsigned kids… improvement needs to come from better health and internal improvement with the kids…
I am interested in
Latest on Tyus Jones
Latest on Gary Trent Jr
Market value on July 1: $15 million each per year
I want to get rid of 3 player’s’ agents
Celab Martin
Trent
Jones
The thing that gets me about Highsmith is that he’s just a ridiculously bad FT shooter for a guard, especially a guy who can reliably hit threes and doesn’t have any obvious weaknesses in his game. Just… watch his body language when he shoots a free throw. He looks so legitimately uncomfortable. Is he in his own head?
He’s a 4/3 that can play more as a wing next to certain spacing, and also when he is knocking down shots, and is a really good defender. He should have played more the last couple of years, as I almost was incessantly talking about that, and he showed why every time he got opportunities.
He’s really good next to Jaime/Kevin Love, and Duncan Robinson/Tyler Herro lineups
The FT thing is probably b/c he only shoots half a FT a game
Nope. It was a constant in the G-League as well. He’s a career 68% FT shooter in the G-League, with nearly 2 attempts per game. A guy who is a good shooter should be better than that, without exception.
Again, 2 FTs a game…usually when he shoots 1. It’s relatively later as well. That happens to guys
And yet none of that explains why he looks like he’s having an out-of-body experience when trying to shoot FTs, and not in a good way.
With us being this close to the 2nd apron, the only other things I could see them being able to do, besides summer league additions (from other rosters), is some sort of trade for Cam Johnson or Brandon Ingram, or possibly a deal where they get Ingram, New Orleans gets Cam Johnson, and Brooklyn gets Herro, etc… then, in most of those iterations of those deals, they take back slightly less money, and could theoretically add someone, or 2, depending on which deal, and in that case. There are multiple options available at the spots they would need to fill
Otherwise, I think for the right guy, it makes sense to just add a 15th man, as has hurt them previously. There are several options I’m interested in that are current FA, so you have to think they could be had at the minimum…
Was he ever sued by the victim who lost his leg after Highsmith crashed into him last spring?
link to nbcmiami.com
Is your Google broken? Why don’t you look into it and let us know. Lazy lazy.
My google is broken. That’s why I’m asking clown.