The 27-year-old is coming off an Achilles tear less than a year ago and is ready to get himself back playing basketball and solidifying a spot in head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation. For Smith, it’s not the first time he’s had a season-ending injury, making this past recovery process even more emotional as Spoelstra was there for him the whole way, as the guard said during an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints.

“I really appreciate him, just for how, you know, he’s handled all the injuries and everything like that,” Smith said on Friday. “Like, he was always reaching out to me, making sure, he was always saying, you know, ‘this isn’t the end, like, we’re gonna figure this out,’ basically.”

“And, you know, that’s something that is super encouraging to hear from the head coach, you know, and also just something that kind of fuels you to keep going, try to make your way back,” Smith continued. “So that was his main message, you know, that wasn’t the end for me, and that we’re gonna figure this out.”

Smith had said before training camp that he’s put a lot of work on the court, doing five-on-five drills, teasing his return to full-time play. He would tell ClutchPoints that the plan is to play in the preseason and “test it out,” as he expressed he is “feeling good.”

Dru Smith on the Heat “monitoring” his workload

The Heat would give Smith a three-year deal, showing that the team has the utmost faith in the guard for getting back to where he was last season, showing flashes before the injury of being a reliable player off the bench. In eight games before sustaining the season-ending injury last December, Smith had logged double-digit minutes, even playing the entirety of fourth quarters for a majority of him.

He proved to be a threat on offense at point guard, while also being an impressive defender, gaining more minutes from Spoelstra before the injury. Now, the team is being careful with the workload as Smith said they have been “monitoring,” though he can’t help but feel excited about getting back on the court.

“We’ve been monitoring it a little bit more going into this camp, just, you know, my load every day, making sure that we’re just a little bit more cautious with it,” Smith said. “But honestly, it’s been really good. And I think I’ve been able to get into a lot of stuff, most of the things that we’re doing. So, yeah, just keeping a little bit of a closer eye, but overall, just happy to be back into it.”

“Definitely excited,” Smith continued. “I mean, I was excited to just get out here and play like with no one in the gym, you know, it’s just, I’m just excited to play basketball again. So, yeah, definitely excited, you know, get back in the arena, get back, especially in front of our home crowd, all those things, definitely looking forward to it.

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on Dru Smith’s “superpower”

While the Heat’s Smith suffered that season-ending Achilles injury, it was just another setback for Smith to recover from, as his resilience is impressive, especially with the team continuing to develop him after being undrafted out of Missouri in 2021. Smith’s main motivation and goal for this upcoming season is getting “comfortable playing again.”

I just want to get comfortable playing again, you know, just one, make sure I’m getting my win back, able to defend the way that I want to throughout the game and things like that,” Smith said. “You know, I think the rest of it will just be getting my feet underneath me. Other than that, I think it’s just playing basketball at the end of the day. So by the time you know, hopefully opening night comes, whenever my number is called on, I can be ready.”

However you want to describe it, the way that Spoelstra did was citing Smith’s “superpower.”

“What he has is a superpower. I wish you could take some of that and just apply it to other players,” Spoelstra said Tuesday during training camp at Florida Atlantic University. “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.”

Erik Spoelstra speaks about Dru Smith’s “superpower,” his recovery process and how they will be “mindful” about his work. Also mentioned how the contract was “well earned.” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/DKiOJqfdtU

https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1973143760252121380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1973143760252121380%7Ctwgr%5Eb89220a202d8fcca8adec9d42524270b4ef13f62%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fnba%2Fmiami-heat%2Fexclusive-dru-smith-reveals-heat-plan-after-another-season-ending-injury-recovery

At any rate, it remains to be seen how much playing time Smith gets throughout the preseason with the opener on Saturday in Puerto Rico against the Orlando Magic.