Heat’s Haywood Highsmith ready to take lessons learned from P.J. Tucker at power forward

The Miami Heat initially signed unproven forward Haywood Highsmith as a COVID-19 replacement player in late December last season. Just months later, Highsmith is preparing to enter this upcoming season as a potential Heat replacement for starting forward P.J. Tucker.

Life moves fast, especially in the NBA.

“I think me and P.J. have similar styles on defense,” Highsmith said to the Miami Herald. “We like to guard the ball, be physical and play hard and just play to win. On the offensive end, he’s a good three-point shooter in the corner, and I think I’m a good three-point shooter in the corner. I think I can do the stuff that he does on the dribble handoffs and the short roll, get into the pocket and making plays, shooting the floaters. I think just on both ends of the floor, I think we have a lot of similarities.”

With Tucker leaving Miami to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency this summer, the Heat is left looking for options to help fill the void he leaves behind as a veteran who was used as the starting power forward last season.

A trade for Brooklyn Nets superstar forward Kevin Durant would certainly help address that glaring hole at power forward. But with the way the Heat’s roster for next season is presently constructed, Highsmith (6-4, 220 pounds) is one of the lone forwards on the team, along with Caleb Martin, who fits the mold coach Erik Spoelstra looks for at the position: A two-way player who can space the floor with three-point shooting but also possesses a combination of size and athleticism to serve as a versatile defender in Miami’s switch-heavy defensive scheme.

Highsmith, 25, showed off that skill set during summer league during the past few weeks. Although he didn’t make a high percentage of his threes, he was still Miami’s most consistent and reliable player during summer league this year with averages of 12.2 points on 45.8 percent shooting from the field and 9-of-32 (28.1 percent) shooting on threes, 7.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks in six games.

“H makes it go, man,” said guard Mychal Mulder, who was on a two-way contract with the Heat before he was waived last week. “He’s got all the intangibles. He reminds me of Tuck like we had last year playing that role and he really embraces that. He sets good screens and gets under the defense, he plays defense with an aggression almost unlike anybody on the court.

“There’s a lot of things that he does that they don’t show up on the stat sheet, but they really lead to wins. It’s winning basketball and that’s the most important thing. That’s what everybody wants to see.”

But Highsmith still needs to prove he can be relied on to be an NBA rotation player. He has appeared in just 24 regular-season games during his NBA career after going undrafted out of Wheeling University in 2018.

Highsmith spent most of the past four years in the G League with the Delaware Blue Coats, appearing in 100 games and making 72 starts for the 76ers’ developmental affiliate. He also played overseas, spending the 2020-21 season in the German Basketball Bundesliga.

Most of Highsmith’s minimal NBA experience up to this point has come with the Heat, as he had played in just five NBA games during his career before appearing in 19 regular-season games with Miami this past season. He totaled 43 points on 16-of-46 (34.8 percent) shooting from the field and 9-of-28 (32.1 percent) shooting on threes, 26 rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocks in 163 minutes in his first season with the Heat.

“I watched a lot of film on P.J., I watched a lot of film on Caleb as well because they’re the guys who played the same position as me,” Highsmith said of immersing himself in the Heat’s developmental program last season. “So looking at those guys and seeing what they do on the floor and kind of trying to do what they do. And stuff before practice, we call it prepractice, we work on stuff like that and that has helped me. I’ve just been watching a lot of film and watching those guys.”

One of the first things Highsmith did when the Heat signed him last season was ask for Tucker film.

“I asked for tape on P.J. as soon as I got there,” said Highsmith, who was signed by the Heat to a few 10-day contracts before the team signed him to a standard contract in March to keep him around for the rest of the season. “I wanted to watch him because he’s just such a dog. The way he plays, I want to play like that. He’s just such a dog. You can just tell he’s got that in him. He’s not trying to lose and he’ll do whatever it takes to win. So as soon as I got here, I asked for P.J. tape on offense and defense.”

On offense, Highsmith will need to be an above-average three-point shooter to get consistent playing time. He shot 38.8 percent on 6.1 three-point attempts per game in the G League last season.

“He’s a very good shooter, he’s a very good cutter,” said Heat assistant coach Malik Allen, who served as the team’s summer league head coach this year. “I think he can make some plays and initiate a little bit of offense. But he really has a skill for making your offense work when he’s out there. Because he really picked up on following the guys we had in front of him. He’s a really intelligent guy.”

On the other end, Highsmith will need to be a versatile defender who can effectively guard different positions to earn a spot in the Heat’s rotation. At 6-4 with a 7-foot wingspan, he has the frame to be used in that role.

“You can see he’s got the aesthetics,” Allen added. “He’s got long arms, got strong hands and he’s got the ability to slide and get back in plays even when guys get a step and he’s competitive, which obviously if you want to be a really good defender in this league you got to have great resolve and great competitiveness. He’s got all those things.”

Only $50,000 of Highsmith’s $1.8 million salary with the Heat for next season is guaranteed, so his roster spot still needs to be earned.

But with training camp opening in two months, Highsmith is ready to make the most of his opportunity with the Heat.

“I think I can definitely create some minutes for me somewhere,” he said. “I just got to keep working and keep pushing and keep getting better every day.”