If there is one revelation to come from the Miami Heat dealing Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets, it’s this: They have virtually no chance of finding a realistic Terry Rozier trade.
This is not hyperbole. The Heat just had to throw in a 2032 second-rounder to offload a useful player on an expiring contract. Just imagine what it would take to get rid of Rozier, who barely looked like an NBA player last year, and who makes nearly five times more than Highsmith.
The Heat treated Haywood Highsmith like a negative asset
The 28-year-old Highsmith will earn a team-friendly $5.6 million this season, and comes off the books next summer. That is a pittance for someone who shoulders a hefty, far-reaching workload on the defensive end, and just canned more than 38 percent of his three-pointers. Miami will have a tough time replacing his body of work with its current personnel.
For some bizarre reason, though, the Heat still needed to include a 2032 second-rounder as part of the deal. (The second-round pick they got back from the Nets is top-55 protected, and therefore essentially a fake asset.) That is bonkers.
Highsmith may be recovering from a right knee injury, but his timetable for return puts him back shortly before or after opening night. If the Heat had waited, they should have been able to actually get second-round picks in exchange for his services. That is now what everyone expects Brooklyn to do.
This admittedly isn’t a perfect analog for Rozier’s trade value. Miami was looking to wipe Highsmith’s money from the ledger free and clear, so that it could duck the tax. Rozier makes too much for them to do that.
At the same time, Highsmith fits the three-and-D archetype for which every team is in the market. And he’s cheap. If he’s someone who requires a sweetener to take on, flipping Rozier is going to cost a whole lot more.
Miami may have to ride out Rozier’s contract
No player or contract in the NBA is immovable. That includes Rozier. And as an expiring $26.6 million salary, he holds theoretical value for any teams hoping to unload longer-term deals.
But that’s a very narrow set of circumstances. They get even narrower when factoring in that the Heat are prioritizing flexibility for a future trade or free-agency signing. Adding someone with money on the books past next season is largely a no-no.
It will require a perfect storm of good fortune for the Heat to unload Rozier’s salary as a result. That is far from damning in the long run. Rozier comes off the books next summer. Miami has no business attaching a first-round pick or one of its prospects to his contract unless it’s part of a larger star trade. Failing that, the front office should wait out his entry into 2026 free agency, or hope to negotiate a buyout.
Whatever happens, it most likely won’t include a Rozier trade. That ship sailed right along with Highsmith—and the price Miami paid to make it happen.
