Getty Delaware Blue Coats wing Haywood Highsmith fires up a shot during the 2021 G League Winter Showcase.
The Miami Heat were back in action on Friday night after a weeklong hiatus, picking up right where they left off before the break. Led by Tyler Herro, who put up 25 points, seven boards and three steals in the game, the Heat secured a 15-point win over the ailing Knicks.
As a result, the team drew even with the Bulls for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. However, that wasn’t the only move the team made on the night.
Per a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski during the contest, the Heat have decided to re-sign forward Haywood Highsmith to another 10-day contract.
The deal will be Highsmith’s third with the Heat this season. He originally joined the team as a hardship signee in December amid injuries and the league-wide COVID-19 outbreak. He was reacquired on a standard 10-day contract just before the break.
Highsmith Gets Another Shot to Stick
Coming out of the Sixers organization and the G League, Highsmith has appeared in six games for Miami this season. During his New Year’s Eve debut against the Houston Rockets, he scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting — including a perfect 3-of-3 from deep — over 15 minutes of play.
Although he has failed to match that level of output in subsequent games, the 6-foot-7 wing has found himself sharing the court with some of Miami’s big guns, including All-Star Jimmy Butler.
When asked earlier this month about playing those minutes and where he sees himself fitting with the Heat, Highsmith opined that his skill set is multi-faceted.
“Today’s game is all about versatility, playing different positions. [There’s] not really a lot of guys who play an exact position,” he told Five Reasons. “For me, as a basketball player, I can defend a lot of different positions, can hit threes, can rebound. So, I just play where I can and do what I can do.”
With the Heat expected to at least explore the buyout market, it’s difficult to say whether Highsmith will ultimately get signed for the remainder of the year. At the least, he’s been given another opportunity to earn a full-time roster spot.
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Heat Are ‘Formidable’
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale sought to identify the perfect one-word descriptor for every team in the Association on Friday. In doing so, he served up some major praise for the Heat, who he described as being “formidable.”
Wrote Favale:
Drama throughout the rest of the Eastern Conference has essentially allowed the Miami Heat to fly under the radar. That’s…weird.
It’d be one thing if they were hovering around the fringes of home-court advantage. But they’re on the verge of finishing with the East’s best record, even though all three of their best players have missed at least 13 games apiece.
He added: “A team that’s already a monstrous problem will become an even bigger one if they can get and stay healthy.”
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Heat Make Roster Move With Former Hardship Signee: Report