Heat guard becomes trade-eligible on Dec. 15 - Hot Hot Hoops

Miami Heat guard Dru Smith becomes trade-eligible on Monday. (Mandatory Credit: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

There are a number of names who could potentially be available ahead of the 2025-26 NBA Trade Deadline, set to be on Feb. 5 at 3:00 p.m. EST. Most notably, there’s a chance that Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade away from the Milwaukee Bucks.

Antetokounmpo’s situation is a ticking time bomb, given the team’s subpar roster and limited flexibility to build around the two-time MVP with Damian Lillard’s dead cap on their books for the next five years.

The unofficial trade season begins Monday, with nearly 80 players becoming trade eligible. At this time last year, two Miami Heat players became trade-eligible. This year, just one — Dru Smith — does.

Heat guard Dru Smith becomes trade-eligible on Dec. 15:

Contract: Three-years, $7.9 million

2025-26 Cap Hit: $2.4 million

Of course, players can be dealt before this deadline. But most free agents who sign in the offseason become eligible to be dealt on Dec. 15. Smith, who signed a three-year, $8 million deal in mid-August, is one of those players.

His journey with the Heat has been a roller coaster, to put it lightly. They have waived him a handful of times, but Erik Spoelstra’s well-known affinity for the 28-year-old guard kept him in Miami. He’s spent time in the rotation each of the last three seasons, but multiple season-ending knee injuries have curtailed his journey.

Smith’s resiliency hasn’t faded. He’s appeared in each of the Heat’s first 25 games this year, averaging 6.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 43.9 percent shooting and 35.8 percent from 3-point range. He is currently second in the NBA in steals per 75 possessions (2.9) and fourth in deflections per minute.

Unless the Heat find another player with a similar skillset at an inexpensive cost, it doesn’t feel likely that Miami deals the 6-foot-3 guard. And even if they do, the Heat will, somehow, find a way to get him back before anyone could bat an eye.

Heat guard becomes trade-eligible on Dec. 15 – Hot Hot Hoops

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