The Brooklyn Nets have been active this offseason when it comes to getting creative with how they use their league-leading cap space to improve the team for the upcoming season. Brooklyn has taken care of business in free-agency for the most part, outside of re-signing guard Cam Thomas, and they are continuing to add to the roster prior to training camp.
The Nets announced on Friday that they had traded for Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 second-round pick in exchange for Brooklyn’s 2026 second-round pick. The Nets’ second-round pick in 2026 is protected from the 31st pick to the 55th pick, meaning that if Brooklyn’s second-round picks falls outside of that range (56-60), Miami will get the pick.
Highsmith, 28, is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 45.8% from the field and 38.2% from three-point land. Highsmith has just one year left on his current contract for $5.61 million so the Nets could either keep him through the end of the season to free up that salary slot or potentially deal him at the trade deadline.
According to Spotrac, the Nets now have 17 players under contract, not counting forward Ziaire Williams and center Day’Ron Sharpe, who reportedly re-signed with the team earlier in the offseason. At the moment, Brooklyn is up to 21 players reportedly on the roster with the news that forward Ricky Council IV and guard Fanbo Zeng signing to the team as well.
Thomas also remains an unsigned restricted free-agent in the middle of August and while he is holding out for the best deal possible, it seems like he will come back to Brooklyn on some type of short-team deal. The Nets are reportedly not worried about losing Thomas to another team at this stage of the offseason so it appears that Highsmith will be making Brooklyn’s depth on the wing that much deeper.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets trade for Heat’s Haywood Highsmith, 2032 second-round pick
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
