The Nets continued their offseason plan of making salary-absorbing moves on Friday when they acquired forward Haywood Highsmith from the Miami Heat.
According to the team, the Nets sent a 2026 second-round pick, protected from No. 31 to No. 55, to the Heat in exchange for an unprotected 2032 second-round pick from Miami and taking on Highsmith’s $5.6 million contract that was about to expire.
According to NBA salary cap researcher Yossi Gozlan, Brooklyn, the only team in the NBA with substantial budget room, has $22.5 million left over after adding Highsmith. The Nets need to cut two players before the regular season starts since they have 17 players on the roster and their total salary amount $131.9 million.
The 28-year-old defensive specialist Highsmith is becoming better at 3-point shooting. He started 42 of Miami’s 74 games last season, averaged 6.5 points, and shot 45.8% from the field, 38.2% from beyond the arc, and 72.1% from the free-throw line.
The Baltimore native spent four seasons at Wheeling University before joining the NBA as an undrafted free agent. In his final year, he was named to the First Team Division II All-America and Mountain East Conference Player of the Year.
Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick were exchanged by the Nets for Cam Johnson from the Denver Nuggets in June. In a three-team transaction with the Boston Celtics, they also purchased Terance Mann and the draft rights to Drake Powell, the No. 22 selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, from the Atlanta Hawks.
