Suns sign Haywood Highsmith

[Wally_West]

[TOO]

I was just thinking about how we could use another SG/SF.

[Wally_West]

Wonder if this is a sign that the Grayson injury is pretty bad.

[rhylek]

Highsmith, 29, hasn't appeared in a game yet this season as he rehabs from a knee surgery he underwent over the summer.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/479 ... -highsmith

[iLLmatic]

Who?

[Split T]

He’s a decent player…but he’s been hurt. Kind of weird after bringing in Coffey. He’s like Royce if you traded some shooting for defense.

[Mori Chu]

Multi year is odd to me. Maybe a team option to keep him on the cheap if he plays well?

[Split T]

That’s what I read. 2nd year isn’t guaranteed fully…maybe some small guarantees

[Uncle_Gene]

Wonder if this is a sign that the Grayson injury is pretty bad.

Exactly. This doesn't make sense. More size (IMO) is needed and the Suns brought in another.......wing ?

I don't get it.

[virtual9mm]

The Miami fans liken him to PJ Tucker. Does he play bigger than his size? 7 ft wingspan helps, so he has good length for a wing, at least.

[The Bobster]

How close is he to being ready to play? Is this a signing for somebody to play this year or next?

[virtual9mm]

How close is he to being ready to play? Is this a signing for somebody to play this year or next?

In the latter case, I hope it doesn't mess with chemistry, because the implication is that someone is getting moved.

[ShelC]

Cautiously optimistic because he's got a different kind of game and impact, even tho he brings the same physical profile as two-thirds of the roster. He does play bigger than 6-5 and split time at SF and PF in Miami - played a tick more at PF. Kind of a prototype undersized Heat JYD swing. He had surgery in August, then had a setback in Oct but is playing 5 on 5 now.

Lakers and Warriors fans were hot for him so I won't complain about the signing. Let's see what he's got.

[virtual9mm]

I did some research using Perplexity and got the following. It seems reasonable to me...except...don't we already have these types? What we really need would be a bigger bruiser.

I have to think that we're setting ourselves up for a Grayson Allen or Royce trade.

---

Haywood Highsmith is a solid, low-usage 3‑and‑D role player whose main value is defensive versatility. He is good enough to be in the regular rotation on a playoff-caliber team, but not the kind of player you build around. As a power forward, he works best as a “small‑ball 4” next to a bigger, rebounding/rim-protecting center rather than as a traditional full-time PF.

Overall level
Career so far: about 5–6 points and 3+ rebounds in ~20 minutes per game over 200+ games, which is typical “rotation role player” production rather than starter scoring volume.
​

In 2024‑25 with Miami he played more, around 25 minutes per game, giving ~6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks, on efficient shooting.

Advanced impact data (CraftedNBA) has him around league average on offense (slightly below) but clearly positive on defense: Offensive Plus-Minus about −1.7 (21st percentile) vs Defensive Plus-Minus about +1.5 (86th percentile).
​

In tier terms, that puts him in the “good role player / seventh–ninth man on a good team” bucket, with his value skewed heavily toward the defensive end.

Offensive profile
Shooting: Over his last two seasons he’s been around 38–40% from three on roughly 3 attempts per game, with almost 60% of his shots being threes. That is legitimate floor-spacing for a forward.
​

Usage and creation: His “Load” and “Creation” metrics are very low (Load 17.4, Creation 0.9, both bottom quintile), meaning he rarely handles the ball or creates his own looks. He’s a finisher, not an initiator.
​

Rim pressure / free throws: Free-throw rate around 11% is very low; he almost never lives at the line. Most of his offense is catch‑and‑shoot threes, spot‑ups, cuts, and occasional straight-line drives.
​

Playmaking: Around 1–1.5 assists per game in ~20–25 minutes, with a middling passer rating and low turnover rate. He makes the simple read and generally doesn’t hurt you.
​

So on offense, as a PF he is a complementary spacer: stand in the corner/slot, cut when defenders turn their head, crash the boards a bit, move the ball. He is not someone you post up or run a lot of actions through.

Defensive profile
This is where he’s clearly above average.

Metrics:

Defensive rating for his recent seasons has been in the low 110s, roughly in line with or a bit better than team context.

CraftedNBA has him at +1.5 Defensive Plus-Minus (86th percentile), with high deflections (84th percentile) and solid block rate (2.1%, 67th percentile).
​

Versatility score of 85 (89th percentile) reflects that he can credibly guard multiple positions.
​

Style:

Strong lateral movement and effort; good at getting through screens and staying attached on the perimeter.

Active hands and good anticipation show up in deflections and steals.

Heat fans and observers often describe him as a “lockdown” type wing/forward defender who understands his role and team schemes, but can be out-sized by bigger fours and fives.
​

Defensively, he fits right into switchy or aggressive schemes where forwards guard 2–4, tag rollers, and stunt and recover. He is not a primary rim protector, but he provides useful secondary contests and rotations.

Can he really play PF?
Physically he’s listed around 6'5", 220 lbs, officially a forward, and has generally been used between the 3 and small‑ball 4 spots. Evaluating him as a PF depends on what kind of PF you mean:

What works well at PF:

Switchy, modern lineups:

Against lineups where the opposing 4 is more of a wing/stretch forward than a bruiser, he’s very effective.

His lateral quickness, closeout discipline, and ability to guard on the perimeter make him ideal for defending pick‑and‑pops and spacing bigs.

Spacing on offense:

As a 4, his ~38–40% three-point shooting forces opposing PFs to leave the paint and guard in space.
​

That opens lanes for primary creators and works especially well if the 5 is a dive/rim-running big.

Playoff viability:

In the 2024‑25 postseason with Miami he played real minutes (21.0 per game) and hit 46.7% from three on reasonable volume, while holding up defensively, which is encouraging for his ability to contribute in higher-stakes games.
​

What’s limiting at PF:

Size and rebounding:

He averages only about 3.4 rebounds in nearly 25 minutes; his defensive rebound percentage is around 10%, which is fine for a wing but light for a full-time 4.

Heat/Nets fans and watchers routinely note that he can struggle on the glass and against bigger, stronger fours who want to post up or seal under the rim.
​

Lack of interior scoring:

Because he doesn’t post up or generate many rim attempts, you don’t get the typical “PF inside presence.”

You need other frontcourt players or guards to supply paint scoring and offensive rebounding.

Lineup dependence:

He’s best as the smaller forward next to a true center or bigger combo‑forward, not as the biggest player in the front line.

If he is your primary PF, your center needs to be a plus rebounder and rim protector, and your guards/wings must help gang rebound.

Comparables and role on a good team
Analytic similarity comps put him in the same archetype range as Dorian Finney‑Smith, Kenrich Williams, Jaden McDaniels, Luguentz Dort, Herbert Jones, etc. – all defense-first, low-usage 3‑and‑D forwards. That is the right mental bucket: a “poor man’s” version of those guys, with real defensive impact and enough shooting to stay on the floor.
​

On a playoff contender:

He is good enough to be in the 8–9‑man rotation.

He can close some games when you want maximum defense and switching, especially against smaller lineups.

He is probably not your ideal full-time starting PF across an 82‑game season and multiple playoff rounds, mainly due to size and rebounding.

Bottom line
How good is he?
A clearly above-average defensive role player and a credible 3‑point shooter, with limited self-creation. Rotation-caliber on a good team, and situationally a very useful piece because he defends multiple positions and accepts a low-usage role.

How well can he play PF?
He is a good small‑ball 4: excellent when the opponent’s PF plays more like a wing or stretch big, and when paired with a strong rebounding/rim‑protecting center. He is less effective as a traditional, full-time PF against bigger bruisers or in lineups where he has to anchor the glass. In the right context, he absolutely works at PF; he just needs the right frontcourt partner and scheme.

[Split T]

He does seem to duplicate a lot of what we have, but he’s a vet min signing and it’s not like there is playoff rotation worthy size just lying around. 6’5 220, 7’0 wingspan is bigger than most of what we have on the wing.

1. Booker, Gillespie, Bouyea
2. Green, Allen, Coffey
3. O’Neale, Goodwin, Highsmith
4. Brooks, Dunn, Fleming
5. Williams, Oso, Maluach

Something like that is how I see the depth chart. Highsmith could potentially steal the Dunn minutes.

[Superbone]

Can't do much better than perfect.

[Shabazz]

Still would have preferred Dieng or even Sochan, but this is a pretty good signing. Plays much bigger than Royce.

[Mori Chu]

We're still under the tax apron after this signing? Needed to be below it to avoid a repeater penalty. I assume we're still under.

[Split T]

Yes we are under. Will still be able to convert Bouyea as well