Miami Heat Officially Sign Former 4th Overall Pick

The Miami Heat have signed a new player.

The Miami Heat have had an up-and-down season, but they have turned things around and are currently 32-27 in 59 games, which has them as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

On Monday, the team announced they had signed former fourth-overall pick Cody Zeller.

Via The Heat: "OFFICIAL: The Miami HEAT have signed 9-year NBA veteran Cody Zeller. 

@CodyZeller, the former 4th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, will wear #44."

OFFICIAL: The Miami HEAT have signed 9-year NBA veteran Cody Zeller.@CodyZeller, the former 4th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, will wear #44.

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 21, 2023

Zeller has not played this year but appeared in 27 games for the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2020-21 season with averages of 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest.

He was drafted out of Indiana in 2011 and spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Charlotte Hornets.

Arguably his best season came in 2020 when he averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.

The 30-year-old is a dependable player who will help the Heat with depth off their bench.

Right now, they rank 25th in the NBA for rebounding (49.2 RPG), so Zeller can help solve that issue.

In seven out of his nine seasons in the NBA, he's averaged at least 5.4 rebounds per contest.

Over 494 regular season games, Zeller has career averages of 8.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest (while shooting 52.0% from the field).

He's also played in 11 NBA Playoff games.

The Heat will play their first game after the All-Star break on Friday night when they visit Jrue Holiday and the Milwaukee Bucks in Wisconsin. 

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