The Phoenix Suns signed a guy you’ve never heard of

Not all offseason moves make major splashes. The Phoenix Suns scoured the waiver wire and found little-known player, Haywood Highland, who has spent his entire basketball career in small towns, a trend that is likely to continue.

The Phoenix Suns recently signed Haywood Highsmith, who was waived by the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this summer.

Don’t feel bad about the fact you don’t know who he is.

Highsmith, a 6’7″ small forward, went undrafted in 2018 before signing with Philadelphia last season on a two-way contract. He spent the vast majority of the year playing for their don’t-call-us-the-D-league, G-league affiliate, Delaware Bluecoats.

Dela-where?

Since you may not have known that team existed, that’s a real NBA-associated basketball organization in Wilmington, DE.

He put up solid numbers for the Bluecoats, averaging 12.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 46 games.

As a short-lived rostered player for the 76ers, he contributed a total of 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists in 5 games.

To continue the theme of Highsmith’s anonymity, he played his collegiate ball at Wheeling Jesuit, which, at least according to Wikipedia, is an actual University in the United States.

The fighting Cardinals from Wheeling, West Virginia compete in NCAA Division II.

As a senior at WJU, Highsmith won all the awards. He claimed conference player of the year, conference tournament MVP, and was named first team D-II All-American nationally.

It’s a good thing he is used to playing in small towns, because he will likely spend most of his tenure in Flagstaff with the Northern Arizona Suns.

Expect him to quickly become a local beer snob, insist on eating exclusively at restaurants with dog-friendly patios, and exponentially increase the amount of flannel in his wardrobe.

The Phoenix Suns signed Highsmith to an Exhibit-10 contract.

Since we are in education-on-lesser-known entities mode, an Exhibit-10 contract basically means his salary is the league’s minimum and both parties can end it whenever they want up until the player has been on the team (most likely the G-league affiliate) for 60 days.

So, if Highsmith decides drinking nothing but triple IPAs and wearing ill-fitting beanies in Flagstaff isn’t for him, he’s free to sign with a team overseas if the opportunity presents itself.

There is still one more two-way contract opening the Suns need to fill before the start of the season (Jared Harper claims the other one), so Highsmith will be vying for that role.

Best of luck, Haywood. I’m sending you a cheers with a 7.2% microbrew.