![\"Haywood](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2024-07-09-092353-1024x592.png\")
The Miami Heat traded Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets last week. (Mike Stewart\/AP Photo)<\/p>\nThe Miami Heat traded Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets last week. (Mike Stewart\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n
Last week, the Miami Heat ducked under the luxury tax by trading Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for a heavily protected 2026 second-round pick.<\/p>\n
The move was quite confounding. The Nets\u2019 2026 second was top-55 protected, so if the Nets were one of the league\u2019s five-best teams, the Heat would be acquiring that second. The Nets aren\u2019t good, so that\u2019s not happening.<\/p>\n
The timing of it made it especially curious. <\/p>\n
He was moved eight days after undergoing meniscus surgery<\/a> that was going to potentially sideline him at the start of the regular season. But according to Five Reasons Sports\u2019 insider Ethan Skolnick, the Heat have been trying to trade Highsmith before acquiring Norman Powell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Haywood Highsmith trade from the Miami Heat to the Brooklyn Nets did not come together quickly,\u201d Skolnick wrote<\/a> Monday. \u201c(The Miami Heat) 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. <\/p>\n \u201cAfter acquiring Powell, the Heat still looked to move Highsmith. According to Five on the Floor sources, no team was offering a draft pick to the Heat. The Heat engaged with the Nets, who wanted a second-round selection to take Highsmith into their cap space; they are the only team in the NBA with enough to do so and not flinch.<\/p>\n \u201cHighsmith hurt his knee in an offseason workout, meaning he likely won\u2019t be ready for training camp. That eliminated the chance for interest from a team other the Nets, since the Nets aren\u2019t really concerned about winning this season. And then the Nets came back to the Heat and said they had other plans if the Heat didn\u2019t take a deal now.\u201d<\/p>\n Highsmith appeared in 74 games last season, averaging a career-high 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He shot 45.2 percent from the floor, 38.2 percent from 3-point range and 72.1 percent from the free-throw line.<\/p>\n He did regress a considerable amount defensively; he was unquestionably below-average relative to expectation \u2014 being an average defender, at best. They ended the season with an abundance of wings. So it makes sense why they wanted to move Highsmith\u2019s $5.6 million expiring.<\/p>\n However, it remains peculiar as to why the Heat had to get off of him now; they didn\u2019t. Why look desperate when you didn\u2019t need to be?! If the Nets were in a \u201cnow or never\u201d situation, they should\u2019ve let bygones be bygones, not succumbed to the pressure when you had six months to make a trade (for Highsmith or another player) to get below the tax.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n To check out our other content, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter\/X\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Subscribe to our YouTube channel\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t\t\t