MIAMI —Two days after losing Caleb Martin to the Philadelphia 76ers in NBA free agency, the Miami Heat bounced back on Monday by re-signing Haywood Highsmith, the team’s other veteran 3-pointer and defensive specialist in free agency.

Agent Jerry Dianis confirmed to the South Florida Sun Sentinel the two-year, $11 million fully guaranteed agreement, a contract that does not have an option clause.

For Highsmith, who initially joined the Heat in 2021 as an emergency pandemic replacement, the starting salary of $5.3 million on the new contract represents a significant increase from the minimum-scale $1.9 million he earned this past season.

“It’s been a process,” Highsmith said Monday evening, after his agreement was finalized. “This is my first time being a real, true free agent. So we just took it day by day. It was multiple calls, multiple meetings, talking about different things.

“It’s been a process. It’s new rules with the CBA. So a lot of things are going on. It’s just been a process, an up and down roller-coaster. But the contract I’ve got now with the Heat, I’m satisfied with it.”

Dianis said Monday that the 6-foot-5 wing had multiple outside offers, but Highsmith had stated from the start of the process that he preferred to remain in South Florida, where he lives with his daughter and the mother of his daughter.

“We’ve been consistent with Miami with how Haywood felt,” Dianis said. “And we felt he wanted to be in Miami. This deal memorializes that.”

Of dealing with outside interest, Highsmith said, “I talked to other teams, obviously, and a few had some offers, and some didn’t have an offer, they were just interested. It could have gone either way, but I’m glad to be back.”