The Miami Heat traded Haywood Highsmith along with a 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for a top-55 protected 2026 second-round pick. This move reduces their payroll by $4.2 million, allowing them to avoid luxury tax penalties and sign free agents at the veteran minimum. However, attaching second-round picks to contracts has become a repetitive habit for the Heat, illustrating mismanagement of assets. Over the previous three summers, they have traded multiple second-round picks to exit contracts without sufficient return on investment.
The Miami Heat traded Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a top-55 protected 2026 second-round pick, effectively dumping his salary.
Miami dips $4.2 million below the luxury tax to avoid repeater tax penalties and can now sign free agents for the veteran minimum while staying under the tax.
The frustration stems from the Heat's continuous attachment of second-round picks to contracts unnecessarily, indicating a lack of learning from past asset management mistakes.
Over the last three summers, the Heat have flipped four combined second-rounders by attaching them to players to divest contracts, indicating a concerning pattern.
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