The defensive ability is quite good. Is it reasonable for the Heat to give the backcourt a minimum salary contract?

In the previous NBA regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 130-120 at home. After this game, the Lakers, who had won three consecutive victories, improved their record to 5 wins and 2 losses, and their ranking has climbed to No. 3 in the Western Conference; while the Heat, who suffered two consecutive losses, saw their record drop to 3 wins and 3 losses, and their ranking also fell to No. 6 in the Eastern Conference.

In this game, the performance of the Heat's substitute backcourt player Dru Smith still had some highlights. Smith played 16 minutes and 23 seconds, making 3 of 5 shots and 1 of 3 from beyond the three-point line. He scored 7 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He also had 2 turnovers and 1 foul, with a plus-minus of +4. Smith still showed a relatively comprehensive scoring ability on the offensive end. He did not take many shots and his playing time was relatively limited, but he still scored some points. Smith also has certain passing and organizational abilities, and his role on the court is quite rich. Not only that, Smith's performance on the defensive end is even more remarkable. He is a very good defender and he has the ability to create a lot of threats to his opponents. Smith's performance in this game can be regarded as both offensive and defensive, but the team's starting players are in relatively average condition. As a substitute player with limited playing time and ball rights, it is difficult for him to help the team reverse the situation.

Smith was born in December 1997. He is 27 years old, 188cm tall and weighs 92kg. He is the undrafted pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Smith has signed with the Heat on two-way contracts many times. By last season, Smith finally began to get some opportunities to enter the rotation, and his performance was once eye-catching. In the NBA regular season last season, Smith played a total of 14 times for the Heat, averaging 19.2 minutes per game. He averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. He also had 1.2 turnovers and 2.1 fouls. He shot 50.8% from the field, 53.3% from the three-point range, and 75% from the free throw line. Since the start of this season, Smith has averaged 17.5 minutes per game in the first 6 games, averaging 6 points, 1.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, 1.3 turnovers and 1.8 fouls, shooting 50% from the field and 40% from the three-point range.

Smith returned to the Heat this summer on a veteran's minimum salary contract. Considering that he has encountered major injuries in the past two seasons, offering him a standard contract is somewhat beyond everyone's expectations. However, judging from the performance in these games, the Heat's decision to sign back Smith is understandable. Smith's personal defensive ability is indeed quite outstanding. He is also willing to do all kinds of dirty work on the court and defend the opponent's top scorer on the outside. After all, it's just a basic-salary contract. Being able to show his own characteristics and be effective on the court is already a pretty good performance.