Earlier this month, the Miami Heat traded Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets to get under the luxury tax. The Nets are the only team in the NBA with remaining cap space, so they did not have to send back any salary to execute the trade. However, it did come at the expense of the Heat’s 2032 second-round pick for a top-55 protected 2026 second-rounder that won’t convey.
Highsmith, 28, recently underwent meniscus surgery that was expected to keep him out for two months. But the Heat felt it was necessary to trade him now instead of toward the deadline — where the opportunity of salary dumping him for nothing may not have arose.
But according to NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, despite Highsmith’s injury, while a lot can happen over the next six months, the possibility of Brooklyn flipping him for greater value is likely.
“I fully expect, furthermore, that we will be speaking often about Highsmith after Dec. 15,” Fischer wrote Thursday. “He remains immediately trade-eligible as we speak, but that date is the unofficial start to the NBA’s in-season trade frenzy, with the majority of free agents who signed new deals this summer becoming trade-eligible then.
“It’s no secret that his new team has no plans to be competitive this season. Brooklyn will continue to operate as a salary-dumping destination and/or three-team trade facilitator in hopes of stockpiling more draft capital. And Brooklyn’s phone certainly figures to ring with interest in Highsmith, who has shown strong 3-and-D potential when healthy and already possesses some valuable postseason experience. The 28-year-old is also crucially scheduled to earn a modest $5.6 million this season, which would make him a comfortable addition for a contender in need of such attributes … provided Highsmith plays well as a Net.
“It’s an inviting salary figure that should attract no shortage of calls.”
The Miami Heat rushed the Haywood Highsmith trade:
I said it at the time: It’s pretty bonkers that Miami traded Highsmith, who’s on an expiring $5.6 million deal, at his lowest value while lighting a match toward their second-to-last second-round pick when they didn’t need to get under the tax until April.
According to Five Reasons Sports’ Ethan Skolnick, the deal wasn’t done quickly. No team was offering draft capital for the Heat. And by the time Highsmith was hurt, Brooklyn was the only suitor knocking on the door. Though they reportedly told Miami that they “had other plans” if no deal was done now.
I still find it hard to believe that Miami wouldn’t have been able to find a trade partner in January or February to get below the tax. They were only $1.6 million above the tax before the trade. Are we sure there would’ve been no trade available? Are we sure they couldn’t have trimmed $2 million off the books without burning a second-round pick?
It’s clear the Heat didn’t want anything in return — for reasons that remain unclear. You can still get below the tax without 1.) taking a ton of salary back and 2.) burning assets in order to do so for a player who’s injured.
There are also 18 active trade exceptions that he would’ve fit into — including eight that would’ve been active post-Jan. 1. Not all of those teams may be looking to add salary. But, once again, I find it hard to believe that deal would not have been able to be made. It wouldn’t have to just be for him — it could’ve been for any of the other 12 players on roster (excluding Bam Adebayo).
Highsmith is inevitably going to get more playing time for the Nets. That changes some of the calculus on what his value may be at the deadline. But an opening day rotation won’t be the same on a night-to-night basis.
Ultimately, the Heat rushed this, and I think it was a clear asset mismanagement — even though, on paper, a Haywood Highsmith trade may not look like one.
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This was a bad article. I dunno, maybe HHH needs to build a section into the website just for their writers to leave their bad hot takes and short-sighted vents so that readers who aren’t into that kind of thing can avoid it.
I think I’m done with this website until the season starts.
That’s fair. We can all choose to read or not as we choose. Many of us can’t wait until at least training camp starts.
That’s right RC. Somebody’s gotta keep the store open while everyone else takes a long leisurely vacation.
This is of the year when our motto is: “If there’s nothing of interest to write about, let’s make shit up.”
What are the latest rumors?
I think Ja Morant or Zion Williamson would fit like a glove in Miami. They both need boundaries and accountability. In exchange, Spo and Heat Culture would help mold them into the best players they can be.
to jet ja youll have to give up bam zion maybe not bam.,murray for tyler prob but does that really make u much better prob not.riley should have traded some of our youngens for a run with kd for a few years.u have powell herro kd bam ware thats prob gonna get u at least into ecf assuming we lose wiggy jjj jovic and maybe a pick.teams with good player are looking for bam in a trade not tyler.still not sure why we coulndt have gotten the kd butler trade done.rc or sun please fill me in on that.wiggy slo mo dav combined equals 1/2 value of kd who might be a top 10 player ALL time and is still playing at high level.Again comes down to pat not being an allstar type gm.
Wrong trade package if Herro and KD were to wind up in same line-up. Two below average defenders won’t cut it.
I can’t believe we have wasted this much energy on writing and posting an article on Highsmith. Lol, I’m even embarrassed I contributed.
The season can’t get here fast enough.
Deadline passes and no Heat player waived and stretched. That is a good thing.
Jovic had another solid game – 6 for 6 shooting, 18 points, didn’t miss a shot. From the short highlights I saw, he was flying up and down the court.
What people forget is that quitter liked the half court slowdown game. With him gone, they can now run, run, run. Running means more shots and more points. If their defense holds up, they should see a few more wins for that alone. With Mitchell, Wiggins plus Powell getting a full preseason to get used to their roles on the team plus improvement of our younger players, that’s a few more games. Add one or two strategic trades…fogetabowded.
What sunman forgets is quitters the only reason we were relevant.I hate to defend quitter but u take him off team when he was here your looking at a lottery team every year.It ended terribly but before that it was very good with him.Powells a great get really hope he becomes our next jimmy butler.(best player)
I don’t think he forgets what Butler brought to the team when he was focused and giving his best effort. Same for me. But another way to look at it is if you take him off the team, you could have another $50m player ON the team, one who wanted to be here, played hard, was talented, and didn’t quit. So maybe the Heat still would’ve been relevant.
Absolutely!
what 50 m player was avail and wanted to be here dame lillard only one comes to mind.dwayne wade doesnt play here anymore whats the desire to play here.miami is a beautiful city with a very average roster.
Get real man. If you have $50m to offer, there will always be a quality player who will be happy to take it.
KD?
That may have been true during the 2022-2023 season and earlier. However, it wasn’t true in 2023-2024 and definitely not true in 2024-2025.
My point was that last year, the Heat finished 37-45 with all the chaos and dysfunction caused by the quitter. That alone probably cost the team at least 5 games (meaning they could have finished 42-40). With him gone, the team can now start fresh and play the kind of modern day up-tempo game they were built to play rather than being stuck in a slowdown/halfcourt game.
Thinking positively, with the addition of Powell, a preseason for players such as Wiggins and Mitchell to gel in their positions and with the development of Ware, Jovic, Jaquez, Larsson and Johnson and a new and improved up-tempo game, I don’t see any reason why the team can’t win another 5 games on top of that (47-35). With a couple of key trades, I can see this team winning over games. But that’s just me.
P.S. Remember, the team was 14-28 in close games last year because they folded late in games. I don’t see that happening again this year. If they go 21-21 in close games in 2025-2026, that alone gives them 7 more wins.
w/o tatum porz holiday ind w/o halburton turner those teams have gone way down.u can say the 8-10 best teams are out west.i think the heat can win the east or finish as 8th seed.hard to say how team will gell..im counting on ware upping his game.i think pelle can be a key guy off the bench.dru stays healthy thats a big bonus.not sure jjj and jovic can thrive in nba lack of athleticism might doom them.
Athleticism is only one criteria. BBIQ, skills, ball handling, strength, conditioning, work ethic and a never say die (non-quitter) attitude are also important. There are many impressive physical specimens that come and go in the NBA because they lack some or several of those other important qualities.
Yes.. I think 3th or 4th consecutive game where he was around 15-20 points, with very good % in 20-25 minutes. He is 2-3 most important player in a very strong team.
No doubt he is better then last year.
If that’s what we will get from him next season, Heat will have one of the best players of his age in the league.
Yes, I believe this will be a breakout year for Niko.
For me, if not for the Powell trade restoring my faith in Riles, I would be very concerned about team direction right now.
Yes, there is no doubt that we could have traded him later in the season. We likely would have gotten draft picks instead of giving up a draft pick. We still could have signed Smith, because as long as you get under the luxury tax by the end of the season, you’re fine. The only reason in my mind to move him sooner rather than later is if they have plans to make another move before the season starts.
Yup. Riley better make up for that decision soon, otherwise, it doesn’t seem to be a very wise move. Heat still needs a couple of players to be competitive.
That seems to be the case. The last few years we have had discussions about whether the Heat had enough collective strength thru their line-up to compete. This year the team certainly appears to need to more firepower. Let’s hope they get it.
they have 4 guys that could wind up averaging around 20 pts a game.not many eastern teams can say that.if powell can be our go to guy in the last 2 minutes of game we might be pleasantly surprised.i know i cant count on bam and ty not to good at end of games.powells #s arevery impressive.i hope hes our best player and becomes a star here.
I hope you’re right and think it’s possible. A lot will depend on how much our bench can step up.