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Haywood Highsmith

Phoenix Suns · #7 · Reserve
SF6'5"220 lbage 296 yrs expWheeling JesuitBaltimore, MD
13th best of 14 on PHX
OFF68DEF78
High-level perimeter defender & interior finisher
PHX
Phoenix Suns
Western · Pacific · proj. 36-46 (▲+3.8)
→

A rugged 3-and-D wing brought in for depth, with no 2025-26 numbers available here to rate. His track record is that of a connective, defense-minded role player who can guard up and space the floor enough to stay on it — a reliable end-of-rotation piece on his profile.

6.5
PPG
3.4
RPG
1.5
APG
0.9
SPG
0.5
BPG
GP 74MPG 24.6FG% 45.83P% 38.2FT% 72.1TS% 58.3USG% 11.3PER 9.9BPM -1.9VORP 0.1
2024-25 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2024-25 form
Perimeter defense89
Inside finishing84
Rim protection82
Playmaking77
Shooting75
Scoring68
Rebounding58

Skill ratings are 2024-25 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2018-19 to 2025-26 · 6 seasons
5.4
PPG
3.1
RPG
1.1
APG
225
GAMES
Points 1,209Win Shares 7.9Starts 80Best season 2024-25 · 6.5 ppg
Games played, last three seasons60%
2 seasons without an NBA game since his debut

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 27 → 29
▬Steady

Haywood, at 29, has held steady — 2.1 → 1.4 wins of value over the window.

2026-27 forecast▬ 1.1 wins (-0.3)
Assumes a normal season; he played 7 games last year. Age takes about 0.3 wins off at 30. Range 0.1–2.1 wins.
Production (BPM)-0.7 → +3.8+4.526-27 forecast -1.4
Only 91 minutes last season, too few to call a trend.
2023-24: -0.7 · 66 games2024-25: -1.9 · 74 games2025-26: +3.8 · 7 games2026-27: -1.4 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)2.1 → 1.4-0.726-27 forecast 1.1
His value to a team has been stable.
2023-24: 2.1 · 66 games2024-25: 1.4 · 74 games2025-26: 1.4 · 7 games2026-27: 1.1 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $3.0M vs $3.0M salary−$0.1M
He is paid about what his play is projected to be worth.
$3.0M salary2023-24: $4.7M · 66 games2024-25: $3.4M · 74 games2025-26: $3.4M · 7 games2026-27: $3.0M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $3,018,158 cap hit · through '27. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$3,018,158Guaranteed
2% of the club’s payroll · 8th of 12 priced deals
Runs through1 season
Est. market value$2,967,810 /yr
Surplus−$50,348
FAIR VALUEpaid about what he is worth

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

2026-27 off-season

2 moves

OFFICIAL means the league’s own records carry the move; AGREED means a trusted insider reported it and the league has not processed it yet. Terms and attribution come from the wire, which is the only source that carries them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.