How The Miami Heat Made A Huge Mistake In Recent Trade

DENVER, COLORADO – JUNE 12: Haywood Highsmith #24 of the Miami Heat dribbles the ball during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets in Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals at Ball Arena on June 12, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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The months of August and September are typically considered the dog days of the NBA news cycle. However, that does not mean teams are not still working to position themselves for the present and future.

Such is the case with the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets, who, on Friday, orchestrated a trade to send Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 second round pick to Brooklyn for a heavily protected 2026 second round pick.

This move made perfect sense for the Nets – a team that is trying to accumulate draft capital while also reaching their salary floor (90% of the salary cap, 139.2 million). That is not my problem with this transaction. My issue lies with the Heat, who essentially traded away a fine rotation player for pennies on the dollar.

Haywood Highsmith Is A Solid Two-Way Player

Highsmith represents yet another example of the Heat identifying an overlooked talent from a small school (Highsmith went undrafted out of Wheeling University) and nurturing them into a sound rotational option.

For the last three years, Highsmith has been one of the best wing defenders in the association. He’s placed in the 84th percentile or higher in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (arguably the best one-number metric on the market) in each of the last three seasons (per Dunks & Threes).

Highsmith is a pitbull with pterodactyl wings for arms. Armed with 220 pounds of muscle and a 6’11.5 wingspan, Highsmith can shadow box with the best scorers in the association while also creating havoc in the passing lanes (82nd percentile steal rate in 2023-24) and offering complementary secondary rim protection (74th percentile block rate among forwards, per Cleaning the Glass).

What has always slowed Highsmith down is his offensive game. Even the most ardent supporter of his work would say that he’s a below-average offensive player (34th percentile Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus).

However, he’s taken strides to become more serviceable on that end of the floor. After never eclipsing the 34% from three in his first three seasons in the NBA, Highsmith has hit 38.8% of his 425 threes. He’s also a solid cutter, which leads to assisted finishes at the rim or second chances for his team via offensive rebounds.

All this is to say that Highsmith is a useful role player. The kind that playoff teams like to keep on their bench for spot minutes in important games.

After adding Norman Powell for virtually nothing, the Heat have a pretty good roster on their hands. And in a diminished Eastern Conference (one that is missing Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard), they have a chance at winning a playoff series if they get the right matchup.

Giving up a quality bench player does not help this cause. Yes, they have Andrew Wiggins and Simone Fontecchio to fill his void. But Wiggins has missed 80 games over the last three years, and both of them will have to spend time at power forward due to so many of Miami’s best players being guards (Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell, Powell, and, maybe, Terry Rozier). That leaves a mini-sized hole at small forward.

Pelle Larsson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. could remedy these concerns, but they are both young and not as proven in playoff situations as Highsmith. Plus, neither of them boasts his physicality/reputation on the defensive side of the ball.

I understand the need to get under the first apron and avoid paying any sort of repeater tax. But the Heat had until the trade deadline to shed salary, and there were other methods for doing so (like not retaining Dru Smith).

Even with Highsmith’s recent injury (he is expected to miss 8-10 weeks), he still has a positive value contract (he’s set to make 5.6 million next season, but his estimated production value is a little over 11 million).

But instead of getting a second round pick for Highsmith, the Heat gave one up for a pick that is highly unlikely to convey (unless the Nets somehow miraculously finish the season with a top five record.

I’ve really loved what the Heat have done so far this offseason (trading for Powell, re-signing Davion Mitchell, and drafting Kasparas Jakucionis), but this is one cost-cutting move I just can’t get behind.