The Miami Heat have offloaded forward Haywood Highsmith in a cost-cutting move, sending him and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a protected 2026 second-rounder.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Brooklyn used its remaining cap space to absorb Highsmith’s contract and acquire yet another draft asset. The Heat, meanwhile, continue to maneuver below the luxury tax line after a quiet offseason.
“Brooklyn has remained active in trade conversations as the league’s only team with remaining significant cap space,” Charania reported. “Nets have also acquired two firsts this offseason to add to the most 1st and 2nd round picks in the league.”
The Nets are the easy winners of this trade. They get a nice young player to add to their roster while also stealing a second-round pick for pretty much no cost at all. That leaves the Heat as the losers here, for obvious reasons.
Highsmith was a solid backup swingman for the Heat, with averages of 6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 24.6 minutes per game last season. At 28, he was just hitting his prime and was expected to take on a bigger role off the bench for Miami.
In 2024, the Heat signed Highsmith to a two-year, $11 million deal that is set to expire as soon as next summer. Evidently, however, the Heat were unwilling to pay out the remainder of his contract, and they sent him to the Nets in a move that is getting significant Heat from fans and experts.
While salary-dumping moves are common in the NBA, teams don’t usually give up an asset just to make it happen. Still, this deal helped Miami duck the luxury tax, which explains why they were willing to attach a pick. Besides helping the owners save money, the Heat got nothing in the trade besides a protected second-rounder, which is unlikely to convey.
Draymond Green Blasts Heat For Cost-Cutting Moves
For someone like Draymond Green, taking such drastic measures and making your team worse is tough to imagine. For most of his run with the Warriors, they’ve been in win-now mode, with the ownership frequently going beyond the luxury tax to ensure a high-quality roster.
So when Dray saw Miami’s latest move, he couldn’t stop himself from making the connection to Jimmy Butler’s departure, whose absence has shifted priorities for the franchise.
“Look what you’ve done, Jimbo,” wrote Green in an Instagram story post.
Without a true superstar to lead them, the Miami Heat are unlikely to contend for the championship. In that regard, you can’t blame the team management for wanting to avoid paying the premium for a mediocre roster.
Still, this move reflects the decline of a franchise that isn’t too far removed from its latest Finals run: in 2023, with Jimmy Butler leading the charge. The Miami Heat lost against the Denver Nuggets 1-4, and after that, they lost twice in the first round of the playoffs.
Now, after an ugly and bitter breakup with Butler, the Heat are in rebuilding mode with bigger concerns about saving money than they are about keeping their assets.
In the end, Miami’s decision to dump Haywood Highsmith may not grab headlines, but it speaks volumes about where the franchise stands. With no Jimmy Butler and no clear path back to contention, the Heat are pivoting toward financial flexibility — even if it means parting with useful players and future picks.
Whether it’s a temporary step back or the beginning of a full-scale rebuild remains to be seen. But for now, Miami’s message is clear: competing for a title isn’t the priority, cutting costs is.
