Delon Wright, a guard, has joined the Heat, the team announced.
In 494 career NBA games (84 starts), Wright, a nine-year NBA veteran, has averaged 7.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.22 steals, and 20.8 minutes.
Wright was waived and bought out by the Wizards on Friday. The same day, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN revealed that Wright planned to sign with Miami.
The prorated veteran’s minimum was awarded to him, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
The 31-year-old Wright has been a member of the Wizards since 2022, when he signed a two-year, $16 million contract as a free agent. During those two seasons, he played in 83 games for Washington, averaging 6.1 points, 3.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 20.2 minutes.
Before the buyout, Wright’s $8.2 million deal was about to expire. Wright played just 18 minutes overall in the Wizards’ first four games following the trade deadline, indicating that he was no longer in their plans. His buyout agreement didn’t come as a huge surprise, as he had averaged 15.1 minutes per contest in his first 29 games this season.
After Dru Smith’s season-ending injury and the January trade that sent Kyle Lowry to Charlotte, the Heat were searching for depth at point guard.
There was a vacancy on the Heat’s 15-man roster. Wright was over the first tax advantage, but Miami was still able to sign him because his pre-waiver salary was less than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.4M) for this season.
