(Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Miami Heat have traded forward Haywood Highsmith and their 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for a protected 2026 second-rounder, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania first reported on Friday.
Highsmith, 28, recently underwent meniscus surgery and was entering the final year of his contract at $5.6 million.
The Miami Heat have traded Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for a protected 2026 second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/ilO1dBStWw
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 15, 2025
Charania notes in a separate tweet that the second-round pick the Heat acquired is top-55 protected. Meaning, if the pick falls between 31-55 in next year’s draft, the Nets retain the pick.
Spoiler alert: The Heat aren’t getting that pick.
This was essentially a salary dump to dip below the luxury tax; Miami entered the day roughly $1.6 million above the tax line, and are now essentially $4 million below it.
The Nets are essentially the only team with the amount of cap space to absorb Highsmith. So it makes complete sense why they would want to accomplish this deal.
The 6-foot-5 wing averaged 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds across 24.6 minutes per game last season. He shot 45.8 percent from the floor and 38.2 percent from 3-point range on a career-most 5.3 triple tries per game. He did regress defensively, but he was still a quality 3-point shooter and offensive rebounder that was impactful off the Heat bench.
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