ASK IRA: Is Dru Smith’s perseverance getting lost in Heat two-way conversation?

Q: Time to take that Dru Smith contract away. – John.

Q: Get him off the team. – Joseph.

Q: Cut him. – Michael.

Q: Dru Smith’s two-way needs to go to Isaiah Stevens. – Andre.

Q: Dru Smith is untested because he hardly played for Miami when he was there. – Grace.

A: This is just a sampling (actually the printable sampling) of the reaction to the story about Dru Smith working his way back from last season’s devastating knee injury. Look, argue all you want about the Heat’s best options, and debate, if you choose, about whether Dru is what the Heat need or should want. But you are talking about a player who suffered a major knee injury while making a hustle play in a key early-season win in Cleveland, a game he was playing when the Heat were without Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kevin Love and Nikola Jovic. You also are talking about a player who has pushed through the most grueling of rehabilitations while without a contract, just so he could work his way back to this stage. It’s July, plenty early for the Heat to sort out the roster. But Dru Smith deserves nothing but the utmost respect for his fortitude and perseverance. That should matter. That should resonate to anyone who talks about Heat culture. As it is, in some form or another, the Heat also still have Keshad Johnson, Zyon Pullin and Isaiah Stevens under team control. That will allow a decision to be made at a later date when it comes to sorting out the two-way contracts. And for all we know, the Heat well could have informed others that if they report to camp without a contract, they will, in some form, be taken care off. Again, there certainly is a right to question whether Dru Smith is deserving of one of the three Heat two-way contracts. But to mock someone who has been through so much and yet has shown a relentless determination to persevere is just the laziest of social media. Working your butt off deserves, at the minimum, respect, whether you agree or disagree about contract status.

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• Miami Heat | Submit your “Ask Ira” question here!

Q: LeBron James took a pay cut because of the Lakers’ tax apron. Jalen Brunson took a pay cut because of the  Knicks’ salary cap. When are the Heat players going to take a cut? – Tony.

A: You can make an argument that Bam Adebayo settled for far less when he went ahead with his extension rather than waiting to potentially qualify for a supermax deal in either of the next two seasons. And Haywood Highsmith returned for less than many forecast his market value. Even Alec Burks at the minimum is a value deal. But it’s also not as if the Heat are a single salary slot from championship contention. What comes next with Jimmy Butler could further open a window into whether this is a trend, or exception to the every-last-dollar rule of thumb.

Q: Cole Swider deserves a contract. – Smiths.

A: Yes, he does. Just not sure it will again be with the Heat. But Friday night was another shooting performance that should attract league-wide notice.