The Heat and Nets have agreed to a trade that sends wing Haywood Highsmith to Brooklyn along with a 2032 second-round pick in exchange for a protected 2026 second-rounder, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).
The Nets have officially confirmed the deal, announcing that they’ve acquired Miami’s unprotected 2032 second-round selection and Highsmith in exchange for their own top-55 protected 2026 second-rounder.
It’s a financially motivated deal for the Heat, who will move under the luxury tax line as a result of the move. Miami entered the day operating about $1.6MM above the tax threshold with 14 players under contract.
Sending Highsmith’s expiring $5.6MM contract to Brooklyn will give the Heat nearly $4MM in breathing room below the tax, with at least one standard roster spot to fill before the season begins — the club will likely keep its 15th roster spot open to start the season to avoid going back above the tax line.
The Heat were always considered likely to duck the tax this season in order to reset their repeater clock.
When I identified Miami earlier this month as a good bet to make a cost-cutting move, I mentioned Highsmith as a potential trade candidate and speculated that he should have a little value based on his play as a three-and-D wing last season. The 28-year-old made 74 appearances (42 starts) for the Heat, averaging 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game and posting a .458/.382/.721 shooting line.
However, word broke last Friday that Highsmith had sustained a torn meniscus during an offseason workout and underwent surgery to address the injury. The recovery process is expected to sidelined him for at least eight-to-10 weeks, jeopardizing his availability for the start of the season and reducing his value as a trade chip, which is why the Heat had to give up a second-round pick to move him.
Miami will create a trade exception worth Highsmith’s outgoing salary ($5,616,000), which the club will have one year to use.
As for the Nets, they continue to use their cap room to stockpile draft assets, having acquired a pair of first-round picks in separate deals for Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann earlier this summer. It’s unclear whether or not Highsmith will be part of their plans for the 2025/26 season, given that there may be a roster crunch in Brooklyn, but taking on his contract puts only a small dent into their remaining cap space.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Brooklyn still has $22MM in room after accounting for Cam Thomas‘ $12.1MM cap hold, though that figure doesn’t include reported two-year, $12MM deals with Day’Ron Sharpe or Ziaire Williams, which aren’t yet official. One of those signings could be completed using the room exception, but at least one will have to use the Nets’ cap space.
Does he get bought out?
Likely! The Nets have 17 players on their roster now without signing Cam Thomas.
You never know he gets used in a next pre-season trade in another salary dump as an expiring contract.
Maybe this was to sign Kai Jones to a 15 man spot since he’s not eligible for a two-way deal? I don’t know but something seems off here. Probably more to this move
The article said the Heat were using the trade to duck under the repeater tax. They may have some space to sign him to a minimum deal but it would still be very tight. It’s more likely that they keep that spot open for a while.
…”reducing his value as a trade chip.”…
He got traded with an unprotected 2nd round pick for a top 55 protected 2nd round pick.
What value could he possibly hold?
He got minutes and didn’t capitalize on the opportunity. If there was something, anything, there he would stick injury or no injury.
5 years, over 4,000 minutes and exactly 0.1 VORP for his career.
Westbrook fits on this team
8-10 weeks for torn meniscus for Highsmith. So arthroscopic, then. When is Joel ready again?
That injury worse than thought
More like Heywood Bye-smith..
Chlorophyll, more like boreophyll
It’s not that he was traded that was a WOW here.. it’s what he was dumped for… The Heat were a couple mill over the tax line.. if they stayed there they would be repeater and hurt their future cap status… most of us heat fans expected Wiggins to be traded in some deal (Kuminga, Lebron, mystery player) that would lower that number. Them dumping Highsmith (a player they’ve been grooming for 5 years and was becoming a core rotation player) for a 2nd round pick they will never get, and giving up a 2nd rounder on top of that.. that’s the WOW here. He must have broken a major team rule in how he got hurt.. that’s the only way this makes sense… the Heat made a big deal of his number swap just a month ago. This is very weird. Unless the Heat have a major move incoming they needed to clear space for. that’s the only way this makes sense to me
Celtics offer the Nets Simons and Hugo for Highsmith and a pick
Haywood Highsmith is someone I didn’t want the Miami Heat to get rid of. Outside of Bam Adebayo he was their best defensive player. He can guard 1-4 at a high level. Then he really developed his three point shot. He’s a solid role player. With Andrew Wiggins Jaime Jacquez and Nikola Jovic on the roster it’s only so many minutes to go around at the wing position and Power Forward position behind Bam Adebayo.
well these reports from Heat fans are more encouraging than where I was on this deal… I wasn’t really following him closely but this is the kind of under the radar deal that Sean Marks has done well with.
The Nets have to make some room on the roster to enable some daylight for Highsmith and some others.. sounding more like the 5 rooks (or at least 4) will spend a lot of time in the GL.
More than likely, they were just gonna do this since Dru Smith’s QO is for a standard contract right?
It is, but only a very small partial guarantee, so even if he accepts it, not sure he’s locked in as the 14th man.