Dru Smith has been waived four times by the Heat during his NBA career. However, they keep coming back to him, the latest example being this summer, when they signed the guard to a two-way contract.
“The way this organization has treated me, it’s unbelievable,” Smith said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I’m very appreciative of it. At the same time, I’m going to go out there and do everything I can for them, as well. I think the love is reciprocated both ways, which I really appreciate. I just want to continue to get back healthy and then be able to get back out there for this team.”
Smith underwent ACL reconstruction surgery in his right knee, an injury he suffered in November. He’s hopeful that he can return by training camp.
“I think it’s very feasible,” he said. “But you never know, these things are day by day. So as long as everything goes smoothly, I think that’s kind of the plan. But like I said, it’s always up in the air. We just got to make sure everything is going right.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Heat first-rounder Kel’el Ware continues to excel in Summer League action. The former Indiana University center had 24 points and 10 rebounds on Wednesday, his third double-double this summer. He also contributed two fourth-quarter blocks. “We continue to challenge him defensively,” Summer League coach Dan Bisaccio told Chiang. “He took that challenge. Everything at the rim was contested. We want to continue to see that. Obviously, this is never enough. But we’re really, really happy with him anchoring our defense.”
- Wizards big man Alex Sarr, the second pick in the draft, missed all 15 of his shot attempts in Wednesday’s Summer League game against Portland, ESPN notes. That included seven 3-point tries and he also missed two free throws. He did have nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks in just under 30 minutes. Sarr has shot below 35% in all three of his games in Las Vegas and is shooting 19.5% from the field overall. Sarr spoke to Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina about his goals for his rookie season, including his desire to make an impact at both ends of the floor.
- Magic guard Anthony Black didn’t play in Wednesday’s Summer League contest due to a mild ankle sprain, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. He’s averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals in two games this month.
Which uber-talented guy would you rather have on your team if you could have them for their entire career… Zacch Risacher, Zach Randolph, Zach Collins, Zach LaVine or Zach Edey? Rank a top3 if possible.. link to m.youtube.com
1. Zach LaVine
2. Zach Randolph
3. Zach Risacher
4. Zach Collins
5. Zach Edey (no disrespect I just don’t think he has a high ceiling)
That seems more disrespectful to Risacher than Edey to me lol.
1. Zac Efron
2. Zach Lavine
3. Zak Bagans
4. Zach & Cody
5. Zach Braff
6. Zac Brown
7. Zachary Levi
8. Zach Randolph
9. Zach Galifianakis
10. Zachary Quinto
i like Quinto.
11. Zack Snyder #restorethesnyderverse
He still has things that need to be worked on, so it’s hard to say him, but theoretically, Risacher should be #1 of those options
Risacher, Zach Collins (possibly #1 with health), Zach Randolph (absolutely love him), Lavine, Edey
Zach Collins possibly #1 with health? Lol I feel like we both know that’s a bad take. You definitely can’t love Z-Bo if you’d take Zach Collins over him lol
Why not? Zach Collins is a better shooter, ballmover/playmaker (even though Randolph was a good passer), better defensively in general, slightly not as good rebounder, and still an efficient scorer, despite not being the individual player Randolph is as an iso guy
Randolph, Levine, Edey.
No seems to have noticed Sarrs bad game was helped by Donavan Clingans DEFENSE #7 pick was clearly the best center on the floor. Blazers news outlets have also neglected to mention Bub Carrington (blazers draft pick traded) is a steal of te 2024 draft, he’s a freaky great athlete who does it all. They’ve called him by his real name to hide that he’s BUB who they drafted. He definitely could have been a good player for the blazers.
Woooow ….. I wonder who it was talking about Ware. You listening Heat fan. Or so you say you are……
Wish Knicks could have had him ….. imagine.
Yurtseven and Orlando Robinson also put up similar numbers…again, even if he turns out like they hope, which he won’t, but is still useful in certain matchups, in certain situations, when certain people are injured or off the floor…it’s still a disappointing pick at 15th in the draft, when there were FA bigs they could have just signed
Seeing him play full games has only confirmed everything I said and thought about it. No offense to him. There is zero universe where hw would have contributed to winning if he somehow got on the floor vs Boston, which he wouldn’t have. If you dispute that, then I question if you’ve paid any attention to how teams win over the last decade plus