The Brooklyn Nets have made some interesting trades over the course of this season, including the acquisition of forward Haywood Highsmith from the Miami Heat along with a 2032 second-round pick. Brooklyn has been going all-in on their rebuild, but it seems that their trading for Highsmith from Miami had been in the works for quite some time.
“The Haywood Highsmith trade from the Miami Heat to the Brooklyn Nets did not come together quickly. Not according to information recently gathered by Five Reasons Sports, and the Five on the Floor podcast,” Ethan J. Skolnick of 5 Reasons Sports wrote. The news of the Nets trading for Highsmith came up out of the blue, but according to Skolnick, Brooklyn has been working behind the scenes for the 3-and-D wing.
“The Heat made a collective decision to move on at the end of the 2024-25 season in which Highsmith slipped some defensively, which had been Highsmith’s specialty,” Skolnick continued. “They wanted to create opportunities for younger players, with Highsmith not figuring into the regular rotation. So they looked for a deal for a while, and were open to moving him as part of the package for Norman Powell.”
The Nets acquired Highsmith last week in what amounted to Brooklyn renting out more of their league-leading cap space to bring in the veteran. The Heat have been trying to have success in the playoffs with their duo of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, but it seems like when Highsmith didn’t fit into that equation, Miami decided to move on from him.
Highsmith, 28, is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 45.8% from the field and 38.2% from three-point land. Highsmith has just one year left on his current contract for $5.61 million so the Nets could either keep him through the end of the season to free up that salary slot or potentially deal him at the trade deadline.