The Heat are bringing in Dennis Smith Jr., and the plan appears to be a familiar one: give the former lottery pick a chance in camp, then potentially stash him with the Skyforce if Miami doesn’t keep him on the regular-season roster.
According to agent Daniel Hazan, Smith has reached a contract agreement with the Heat, Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime and NBA TV reported. The terms were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to be non-guaranteed. It could be a training camp contract, which would not count against the salary cap unless Smith earns a spot on the regular-season roster.
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel added that Smith won’t be with the team when training camp opens. Winderman also reported that Smith will receive an Exhibit 10 contract and is likely to head back to Sioux Falls to begin the season. If he is waived before 2026/27 starts and then spends at least 60 days with the Skyforce, he would be eligible for a bonus of up to $91K on top of his G League salary.
Miami has had its eye on the 28-year-old all offseason, according to Haynes. That interest makes sense given Smith’s profile: an explosive athlete out of NC State who went No. 9 overall in the 2017 draft and has spent the last seven seasons bouncing through the league.
From 2017-24, Smith played for the Mavericks, Knicks, Pistons, Trail Blazers, Hornets and Nets. He carved out a reputation as a strong perimeter defender, and his decision-making improved, but the jump shot never became a reliable part of his game. In 326 career games, including 152 starts, he has averaged 9.7 points, 4.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals while shooting .407/.298/.674 in 23.2 minutes per night.
Smith also spent more than two months with Real Madrid during the 2024/25 season, though he only appeared in four games for the Spanish club. Most of last season was spent in the G League, where he played 11 games for the Wisconsin Herd and 21 for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Across those 32 combined games, he averaged 8.1 points, 5.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting .382/.280/.591.
The Heat are currently $2.6MM below their first-apron hard cap with 14 players on standard contracts. They could technically carry a 15th player on a veteran’s minimum deal, which would come with a $2.45MM cap hit, though that would reduce their flexibility during the season. Smith signed a training camp deal with Dallas last fall and did not make the regular-season roster.
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Spoelstras message is the kind of thing fans in Miami tend to appreciate because it fits the organizations long-running chip-on-the-shoulder identity. Rather than pushing back against the narrative, he wants to use it, treating the underdog label as fuel while the Heat get set for camp. The bigger question now is how that mindset translates once the games begin and the attention shifts from the story line to the roster itself. [Read more 🡒]
Giannis Is Settling In As Heat Fans Dream Bigger Than Ever
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Miamis offseason did more than just bring in Giannis, either. The Heat also added Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency, giving the roster a different look and more proven scoring around its newest star. For Heat fans, the larger question now is how quickly all of it comes together once the season starts and the expectations stop being theoretical. [Read more 🡒]