Miami Heat Trade Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets

The Miami Heat have had a rather quiet offseason thus far beyond the trade to acquire Norman Powell, and with the depth on their roster, optimism is high heading into the 2025-26 season. As a result of that acquisition, their starting lineup is set with Herro, Powell, Wiggins, Adebayo, and Ware, and with a good bench, they'll be competitive in a very injured Eastern Conference.

On Friday, however, the organization made a surprising trade, officially dealing 28-year-old forward Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets.

In the deal, broken by NBA Insider Shams Charania, the team dealt Highsmith and a 2032 second-round pick to Brooklyn in exchange for a second-round pick in 2026. It's not the most exciting return for the Heat, who get a second-round pick six years in advance for one in the future, but with the depth of Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic, they clearly saw Highsmith as expendable.

In his four seasons with the Heat thus far, Highsmith played in 213 games, averaging 5.5 points in 20 minutes during that stretch, but with 7 points per game in 2024-25, he showed that with extended minutes, he can potentially be a role player in the NBA. As for the Nets, they acquire a talented player who can be something solid off the bench, and after drafting guard-heavy in the 2025 NBA Draft, getting depth in their forward group is the right move.

Ultimately, this isn't a move that’s going to change much in the NBA, as the Heat and Nets simply swapped picks and a solid 20-minute player off the bench, improving both teams slightly in the process.