Garrett has suffered significant wrist injuries twice in 2022.
Marcus Garrett has had a tough year. In January, he had wrist surgery and missed the rest of the season. The Miami Heat moved him off his two-way contract (to sign Kyle Guy to his spot) and allowed Garrett to rehabilitate with the team for the rest of the season. He signed another two-way deal with the Heat in July.
And then a few days ago, Garrett injured his wrist again. The Heat once more dropped him from his two-way deal to promote Dru Smith to take his spot.
Officially per Heat: Marcus Garrett suffered a fractured scaphoid bone in his right wrist. He will be casted for four weeks and re-evaluated at that time.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) October 11, 2022
Heat officials like Garrett enough to have given him a two-way contract twice. He’s known as a tenacious defender and showed it in Summer League. But have injuries forced Garrett to miss his chance of breaking in to the Heat system?
MARCUS GARRETT, stop it.
Phenomenal defense by the long-time Heat hopeful that had Tyler Herro, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Erik Spoelstra up on their seats.
Hell of a game from him. pic.twitter.com/qeEUhhj7er
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) July 9, 2022
The Heat have a great track record of turning unheralded prospects into quality rotation players. Caleb Martin was on a two-way contract last season. Max Strus and Gabe Vincent had Miami’s two-way contracts the season before.
Duncan Robinson was on a two-way contract during the 2018-19 year. On the last day of that season, Miami signed Kendrick Nunn, who then made All-Rookie First Team for the 2019-20 season. Even going back, Derrick Jones Jr. signed a two-way contract with the Heat for the 2017-18 year.
Heat add prospect who was scoring runner-up to Trae Young last year. https://t.co/DmQacdrumq Move brings Heat back to NBA maximum 15-play roster and sets up offseason development program.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) April 10, 2019
Garrett has a valuable skill in his on-ball defense, but his offense has always lagged. That was the same story with Patrick Beverley, whom the Heat cut in October 2010. In hindsight, that was a mistake — remember all the aging veterans who cycled through Miami during the Big Three era and offered little?
Beverley, of course, has never forgotten it.
#Clippers’ Patrick Beverley on the chip on his shoulder – “I played with Miami, with LeBron and they cut me. I got drafted by the #Lakers, they traded me to Miami. Bron got there, they cut me. I remember it like it was yesterday, so yeah, it’s a chip on my shoulder.” pic.twitter.com/bcSwtF5En6
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 5, 2019
Maybe Garrett will recover from his injury, and he’ll have one more chance to see if he can be the next Beverley. But this roster is already loaded with guards. And maybe Garrett isn’t the next Beverley, but the next Briante Weber.