Heat Guaranteeing Dru Smith’s 2026/27 Salary

The Heat opted not to waive guard Dru Smith on Sunday, ensuring that his $2.58MM salary for the 2026/27 season will become fully guaranteed, a league source tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

As our tracker shows, Smith was one of three NBA players who had a June 28 salary guarantee date. He and Hawks sharpshooter Buddy Hield both survived that deadline and will have their entire salaries for ’26/27 become guaranteed, whereas Magic forward Jonathan Isaac was waived before locking in his full salary.

Smith, who had been in Miami’s system for several years as he worked his way back from a torn ACL in 2023 and a torn Achilles in 2024, was healthy to open the 2025/26 season and ended up making a career-high 70 appearances, averaging 5.6 points, 2.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 16.3 minutes per game.

Smith isn’t much of an offensive threat, shooting just 41.5% from the floor and 29.5% on three-pointers, but he can handle the ball and is a strong perimeter defender. As Chiang points out, among players who appeared in at least 50 games, the 28-year-old ranked first in steals per 36 minutes (3.2).

Smith’s contract also includes a $2.93MM team option for the 2027/28 season, so assuming he spends the entire season in Miami, the Heat will have another decision to make on him next summer.