{"id":90357,"date":"2025-08-17T08:41:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T08:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357"},"modified":"2025-08-17T08:41:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T08:41:41","slug":"the-miami-heat-have-decided-to-reward-their-homegrown-guard-with-a-three-year-deal-a-well-deserved-recognition-of-their-hard-work-and-dedication-to-the-team-this-new-contract-is-a-testament-to-the-o","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357","title":{"rendered":"The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization&#8217;s commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can&#8217;t wait to see what the future holds for this rising star!"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) slips while dribbling the basketball against Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson (45) during the second quarter\" \/>After signing a new three-year contract with the Miami Heat, Dru Smith agreed to a deal valued at $7.9 million, with the first season fully guaranteed. At 27 years old, Smith has spent much of the last two campaigns recovering from consecutive season-ending injuries: first a torn ACL in 2023 and then a torn Achilles in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Despite those setbacks, the Heat guard managed to earn his spot when healthy. In 14 games during the 2024-25 season, Smith averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting an impressive 50.8% from the field and 53.3% from three-point range. His ability to contribute in multiple areas convinced the front office to bring him back on a standard contract, following three years spent on two-way deals.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-dnt=\"true\" data-width=\"500\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Miami Heat are resigning Dru Smith to a three-year deal, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com\/6qzxTDfWMT<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/ClutchPointsNBA\/status\/1956851063044354347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1956851063044354347%7Ctwgr%5E249e3be96d8bfde44fc8a59b6cd21b0f1a45ee02%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fnba%2Fmiami-heat%2Fheat-news-miami-rewards-homegrown-guard-three-year-deal<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The three-year agreement is significant not only for its length but also because Smith was no longer eligible for another two-way contract. Miami\u2019s decision reflects its confidence in his future contributions, particularly as he continues to recover.<br \/>\nKnown for developing undrafted talent, the Heat rewarded Smith for his perseverance and steady growth within the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Smith went undrafted out of Missouri in 2021 and began his professional career with Miami\u2019s Summer League team. He later split time between the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Heat before a brief stint with the Brooklyn Nets in 2023, eventually returning to Miami the following summer. Over the past three years, he has appeared in just 28 regular-season games, but his growth and strong preseason performances earned him a longer commitment from the franchise.<\/p>\n<p>With the deal now official, the Heat\u2019s backcourt rotation looks even more crowded. Along with Smith, Miami features guards such as Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Pelle Larsson. The team could also experiment with three-guard lineups following the departure of Haywood Highsmith, but Smith\u2019s veteran presence gives head coach Erik Spoelstra another reliable option heading into the season.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new three-year contract deal adds depth and valuable experience to Miami\u2019s backcourt for the upcoming campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":90359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[968,45],"class_list":["post-90357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-miami-heat","tag-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization&#039;s commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can&#039;t wait to see what the future holds for this rising star! - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization&#039;s commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can&#039;t wait to see what the future holds for this rising star! - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new three-year contract deal adds depth and valuable experience to Miami\u2019s backcourt for the upcoming campaign.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-17T08:41:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-17T08:41:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"673\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357\",\"name\":\"The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization's commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for this rising star! - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-17T08:41:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-17T08:41:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":673},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization&#8217;s commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can&#8217;t wait to see what the future holds for this rising star!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"News 365\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\",\"name\":\"MrLuu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrLuu\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization's commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for this rising star! - News 365","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization's commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for this rising star! - News 365","og_description":"A new three-year contract deal adds depth and valuable experience to Miami\u2019s backcourt for the upcoming campaign.","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-08-17T08:41:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-17T08:41:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":673,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrLuu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrLuu","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357","name":"The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization's commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for this rising star! - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-17T08:41:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-17T08:41:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dru-Smith.jpg","width":1200,"height":673},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=90357#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Miami Heat have decided to reward their homegrown guard with a three-year deal, a well-deserved recognition of their hard work and dedication to the team. This new contract is a testament to the organization&#8217;s commitment to nurturing and developing talent from within, and we can&#8217;t wait to see what the future holds for this rising star!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6","name":"MrLuu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrLuu"},"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90357"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90361,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90357\/revisions\/90361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/90359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}