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Haywood Highsmith Rumors
There were some strong rumbles last month that Miami was looking to offload Fontecchio. But that was before the Haywood Highsmith-to-Brooklyn trade that gave the Heat some financial wiggle room under the luxury tax ... and before Fontecchio delivered a reminder of his shooting prowess with those seven 3s Sunday.
The Heat have been rebuilding around Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo ever since Jimmy Butler was traded to the Warriors. But the direction in which that rebuild has been going so far is not very impressive to many experts around the NBA world. The Heat recently traded Haywood Highsmith to the Nets for a 2026 second-round pick. This did not sit well with Draymond Green, who took a shot at 'Internet experts' who followed the Heat and felt that Highsmith should have started over Jimmy Butler during his final months with the Heat. "Y'all (internet experts) wanted Jimmy to come off the bench behind dude, and 5 months later the Heat traded him for a bag of chips, that's wild."
The Heat continued to make changes to its roster on Friday, trading forward Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for a protected 2026 second-round selection in a move that shed enough salary to bring Miami out of luxury-tax territory. “Man, it’s kind of been like that this summer, this offseason. That’s one of my good friends,” Jaquez said of losing Highsmith as a teammate on Saturday morning before hosting a youth basketball camp with FlexWork Sports at Game Point Miami. “We got to build a great relationship. I’m just wishing him all the best in his career and with his time in Brooklyn. I really appreciate the time that we had playing together. Like I said, I’m just wishing him all the best.”
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Barry Jackson: This was, in my view, the first example this decade of Heat clearly worsening its roster for financial reasons, though I also get them not wanting to pay a tax when they don't have a championship contender..... Heat didn't want to leave itself at risk of not being able to get under tax at trade deadline. Riley has said Heat could get back into tax in 2026-27, though it probably won't be necessary. Paying a tax 3rd straight year, this season, would have left Miami at risk of triggering onerous repeater tax.
Bobby Marks: The Heat are now $4M below the luxury tax and $9.5M below the first apron hard cap. 11 guaranteed contracts 2 partials (Rozier/Larsson) They will create a $5.6M trade exception. Miami has 1 future 2nd (2027) now available.
Bobby Marks: Haywood Highsmith is on an expiring $5.6M contract. Including the $12.1M Cam Thomas free agent hold, Brooklyn is $22M below the salary cap. They have until Oct. 21 to reach 90% of the salary cap.
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Tim Reynolds: Heat are under the tax line. Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 second rounder are being traded to Brooklyn for a conditional 2026 second rounder, source tells AP. Highsmith had knee surgery a few days ago and is likely to need until sometime in October before he is full-go again.
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