Heat trade Highsmith to Nets for protected 2026 second-round pick

The Miami Heat traded forward Haywood Highsmith and a future second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a protected 2026 second-round pick, a move aimed at trimming the team’s salary commitments and easing a path under the luxury tax while expanding Brooklyn’s draft capital and development options. The deal, which unfolded in the latter stages of the NBA offseason, shifts a useful wing out of Miami’s rotation and adds a long-range asset to Brooklyn’s rebuilding framework.

Highsmith, 28, has been a steady part of Miami’s perimeter defense and two-way lineup over the past two seasons. He appeared in 74 games last year, starting 42, and averaged 6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting about 38 percent from three. A product of Wheeling University, a Division II program, Highsmith’s rise from undrafted prospect to regular rotation contributor fit the Heat’s culture of developing role players into reliable pieces for Erik Spoelstra’s defense-first system. His contract next season is worth 5.6 million, a figure Miami sought to shed as part of the broader financial calculus surrounding the club’s tax status.

From Brooklyn’s perspective, the trade...