The Miami Heat have become notorious for finding “diamond in the rough” players to play important roles in their rotation. These players went undrafted, yet find their find their way to playing meaningful minutes for Miami teams that reach the postseason. It certainly seems that they are the best at finding these kinds of players.
On Sunday, the Heat defeated the team with the best record in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers, by the score of 122-113. Another undrafted player, Dru Smith, played a large role in ensuring Miami left with the win.
Have The Heat Found Another Undrafted Diamond In The Rough?
Dru Smith Yet Another Undrafted Find By Heat
The Heat’s victory at home improved their record to 12-10 on the season. That places them with the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference. They have now won three straight after falling under .500.
The 26-year-old Smith, now in his third season, played a large role in Sunday’s victory. The 6-foot-3 guard scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone which helped to secure the win for the Heat. It was the fourth-straight game in which the undrafted Smith saw plenty of action for Miami.
In the last two games, Smith has seen 55 minutes of game time. In the previous two, he saw 33. That has easily been the most sustained playing time for Smith as he had just 29 prior appearances in the NBA before those four games. He has mostly been on two-way deals with Miami, but he was waived by the team in late December of 2022. He signed a two-way deal with the Brooklyn Nets soon after and played 10 games for them in the 2022-23 season.
Smith re-joined the Heat last season and was converted to a standard deal days before the regular season tipped off. Unfortunately, he played just nine games before a season-ending injury. Playing against the same Cavaliers team he played on Sunday, he slipped on a raised part of the floor in Cleveland in late November of 2023. It caused a torn ACL which ended his season very prematurely.
Now in the last four outings, Smith has posted averages of 7.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals. He has shot 11-22 (50%) from the field and an impressive 7-12 (58.3%) from beyond the arc in that time. For now, he has seemingly surpassed 14-year veteran Alec Burks in the rotation.
Dru Smith Joins These Other Undrafted Key Players For Miami
As mentioned, Smith was not an NBA draft pick. He went undrafted in 2021 and didn’t play in the NBA in 2021-22, only spending time with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Smith is far from the only recent player to become a rotational piece for the Heat after going undrafted. Who are some other players to play key roles for Miami after going undrafted? Some of those players include Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, and Kendrick Nunn. All four played large roles despite going undrafted on the last two Heat teams to reach the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023 (Robinson in both, Nunn in 2020, Strus and Vincent in 2023).
If you go further back, Udonis Haslem is the most iconic undrafted Heat player in team history. With such an extensive list of undrafted “diamonds in the rough”, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Dru Smith becomes the next one.
