NBA official: Suns sign veteran forward Highsmith back to the team for 1 year and $3 million.

According to official NBA trade records, the Phoenix Suns have re-signed veteran forward Haywood Highsmith.

After briefly becoming a free agent following his waiver by the Suns last week, Highsmith has rejoined the team. The two sides are expected to sign a one-year, non-guaranteed contract worth approximately $3 million, with only $2.45 million going towards the salary cap.

All indications suggest that the Suns' move was primarily aimed at optimizing their salary structure. Highsmith's original contract was worth approximately $3.02 million, with $1 million partially guaranteed. Through a waiver-and-sign transaction, the Suns successfully eliminated the unguaranteed portion of Highsmith's contract, reducing the team's total salary to approximately $6.9 million, just below the second-highest salary bracket.

After returning to Phoenix, 29-year-old Highsmith will be entering his seventh NBA season. An undrafted free agent in 2018, he previously played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat before joining the Suns, accumulating 218 regular season games, averaging 5.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 20.0 minutes per game, with a 44.9% field goal percentage and a 37.4% three-point percentage.

Highsmith also played 35 playoff games, averaging 3.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 11.5 minutes per game. His most representative playoff achievement was undoubtedly leading the Heat to the 2023 NBA Finals.

In February of this year, Highsmith joined the Suns as a free agent. Affected by a torn meniscus in his right knee, he has only played 7 regular season games for the Suns so far, averaging 13.0 minutes, 5.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, with a field goal percentage of 52.2% and a three-point percentage of 57.1%.

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