Dru Smith working to make most of latest Heat opportunity. Also, a busy week ahead for Heat

It’s just the preseason, but Miami Heat guard Dru Smith has learned not to take any time on the basketball court for granted.

That level of appreciation and gratitude has been on display, as Smith has worked to make the most of his opportunities this preseason less than a year after undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery in his right knee in November.

With Heat’s guard Josh Richardson still unavailable as he continues to recover from right shoulder surgery, Smith has been used as Miami’s backup point guard in the first two preseason games this year. Smith impressed in that role during Sunday’s 101-99 preseason win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Kaseya Center, finishing with four points, three rebounds, two steals, one block and a team-high five assists in 16 minutes off the bench.

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“It’s been fun,” Smith said. “It’s been good to get back out there just to even have the opportunity to be playing again. I think one thing about the injury is it just kind of gave me a fresh perspective just to appreciate the game and appreciate my opportunities when I get out there. Just playing hard, that’s all I’m trying to do. Just play hard, play the right way and try to get everybody involved.”

Smith was solid on both ends Sunday, playing within his role as a pesky perimeter defender with quick hands who can also serve as a facilitator on the offensive end.

Smith, who turns 27 in December, recorded two steals and one block during a frantic one-minute stretch in the second quarter. He then dished out all five of his assists during the third quarter.

The result: The Heat outscored the Pelicans by 10 points with Smith on the court in the preseason win.

During Smith’s limited NBA playing time since he went undrafted out of Missouri in 2021, he has recorded a total of 36 assists and just eight turnovers for a quality assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.5:1 in 24 NBA regular-season appearances. Smith said Sunday that playing as a facilitator and helping create scoring opportunities for teammates “brings me more joy than scoring baskets.”

“So much of what he does, it won’t show up [in the boxscore],” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Smith. “He just makes winning play after winning play. The guys love playing with him, he connects the group. Defensively, he’s tough. Really can make a lot of things happen. If there’s a ball going around, he’s going to find a way to be around it or deflect it or steal it. And then he allows that group to function because he can get them organized and get the ball where it needs to go.”

The Heat continues to bring back Smith despite waiving him four times in the last three years.

The first time Smith was waived by the Heat came in 2021 just a few months after he went undrafted. Smith was on an Exhibit 10 tryout contract at the time and the Heat’s plan all along was to release him in order to funnel him to its G League affiliate, where he could unlock his Exhibit 10 bonus.

The second and third time Smith was waived came in the following season within a month of each other. Smith began the 2022-23 season on a two-way contract with the Heat before he was released on Nov. 13, 2022 to open a two-way slot for Orlando Robinson. Then Robinson was waived on Nov. 25, 2022 to bring back Smith on a two-way deal prior to Smith again being waived on Dec. 11, 2022, to get Robinson back on a two-way contract. Smith then signed a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 13, 2023, and spent the rest of that season with the Nets.

The fourth time Smith was waived came last season when he had already been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Smith entered last season on a standard NBA contract with the Heat before being waived on March 6 to make room on its roster for the addition of a healthy and available player in veteran guard Patty Mills.

But the Heat never actually fully parted ways with Smith, as he remained around the team even after being released in March. He continued to rehab from knee surgery with the help of the Heat and even attended some practices and film sessions despite no longer being on the roster for the final few weeks of the season.

Then when the Heat had an opportunity to lock Smith into another contract this past offseason, it didn’t hesitate. The Heat brought back Smith on a two-way contract early in free agency on July 1.

“He has that mental fortitude, that toughness that’s unique,” Spoelstra said of Smith. “That’s a superpower of his.”

Smith is one of three players who the Heat has signed to a two-way contract, along with Keshad Johnson and Josh Christopher.

Two-way contracts do not count toward the salary cap, luxury tax or aprons and allow for players to be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games, but do not come with playoff eligibility. Two-way deals can be swapped out at any time.

But based on the way that the Heat is using Smith early this preseason, he’s more likely to earn NBA minutes than be released from his two-way deal in the coming weeks.

“I feel pretty good,” Smith said of returning to play in preseason games just 10 months after undergoing surgery on his right knee. “I mean, as good as I could have hoped for at this point. Yeah, I was hoping to be ready for training camp. We kind of jumped into it fairly quickly. I had played live like two or three times before camp started and then jumped right in. So it’s been going good. The knee has been responding really well.”

BUSY WEEK AHEAD

Following Sunday’s victory over the Pelicans, the Heat continues its preseason with a back-to-back set in Miami against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun and NBA TV) and against the Atlanta Hawks (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun) on Wednesday. The preseason contest against the Hawks was originally scheduled for this past Thursday, but it was pushed back because of Hurricane Milton.

The Heat then wraps up its five-game preseason schedule on Friday against the Grizzlies in Memphis, Tenn. to end a stretch of three preseason games in four days.

The Heat’s rotation regulars played on Sunday, but they’ll get some time off in the coming days. Expect the Heat to sit out most of its regulars in at least one of the Heat’s remaining three preseason games to make sure they’re fresh for its regular-season opener on Oct. 23 against the Orlando Magic at Kaseya Center.