As the start of the upcoming season inches closer, the Miami Heat faces the possibility of opening training camp in late September without forward Haywood Highsmith.
The Heat announced Friday that Highsmith underwent successful surgery to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee. He suffered the injury during a recent offseason training session in his hometown of Baltimore.
The 35-minute procedure was performed by Heat team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick on Friday at Doctors Hospital Surgery Center in Miami.
Highsmith will begin rehabilitation immediately, but he’s expected to miss eight to 10 weeks. The Heat is scheduled to begin training camp on Sept. 30, which is seven weeks away.
Highsmith, who went undrafted out of Wheeling University in 2018, has developed into one of the Heat’s latest undrafted success stories.
After playing in 100 G League games and spending the 2020-21 season in the German Basketball Bundesliga, Highsmith initially joined the Heat in the middle of the 2021-22 season on a 10-day contract. He had played in just five regular-season NBA games prior to signing with Miami.
Highsmith, 29, has since carved out a role for himself with the Heat as a three-and-D rotation player. In his first four seasons with the Heat, Highsmith has appeared in 213 regular-season games (80 starts) and played in 35 playoff games (zero starts).
Last regular season, Highsmith averaged career-highs in points (6.5 per game), assists (1.5), steals (0.9) and blocks (0.5) while appearing in a career-high 74 games and making a career-high 42 starts. He shot 45.8 percent from the field and 38.2 percent on 3.1 three-point attempts per game last regular season.
Highsmith is due $5.6 million this upcoming season in the second and final year of his contract. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.