The Heat have signed Precious Achiuwa to a one-year deal, Shams Charania of ESPN reports. It’s a fully non-guaranteed deal, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
Achiuwa, 26, returns to the team that drafted him after a whirlwind first few years in the NBA. Miami selected the Memphis product 20th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft but traded him — along with Goran Dragić — to the Raptors for Kyle Lowry in the 2021 offseason.
Achiuwa played some of his most productive basketball in Toronto. He averaged 6.5 rebounds in 2021-22 and averaged 9.2 points per game in 2022-23, both career highs.
Midway through the 2023-24 season, though, Achiuwa was on the move again, this time heading to the Knicks as part of the O.G. Anunoby-R.J. Barrett blockbuster.
In New York for the past year and a half, Achiuwa was in and out of the rotation and received some spot starts as well; he averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20.5 minutes last season, appearing in 57 games and starting 10. He also shot 50.2% from the field, his best mark since his rookie campaign.
Now back in Miami, Achiuwa figures to fill a similar role as the one he had with the Knicks. The Heat have a franchise cornerstone center in Bam Adebayo, and fellow center Kel’El Ware is coming off a promising rookie season in which he finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting.