The Miami Heat’s offseason has already been turned upside down, and the work still isn’t close to finished.
After landing Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster trade, Miami reshaped its roster by sending out Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis. Norman Powell also left in free agency, leaving the Heat to keep piecing together a new rotation around Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo while working within financial limits. Miami has already added wing Tim Hardaway Jr. on a one-year deal and brought back Simone Fontecchio, and the recent extension for Andrew Wiggins created a little breathing room by trimming $9 million off his player option for the upcoming season.
That’s where a familiar name comes back into the picture: Haywood Highsmith.
Highsmith was released by the Phoenix Suns earlier this week after signing a two-year contract extension in February, and the former Heat forward is suddenly available again. For Miami, that opens the door to a reunion with a player who already knows the organization and the system.
Highsmith, 29, took the long route to becoming a reliable NBA rotation piece. He went undrafted in 2018, landed with the Philadelphia 76ers and spent the early part of his career between their G-League affiliate and a stint overseas.
He played just five games for Philadelphia in the 2018-19 season, then didn’t get back on an NBA floor until 2021-22, when the Heat gave him a 10-day contract. That stint briefly sent him back to the 76ers’ G-League team before he returned to Miami later that same season.
From there, Highsmith stayed with the Heat for three more seasons and carved out a real role as a defender and perimeter shooter. He was later traded to the Brooklyn Nets before last season after an offseason injury, then moved again to the Suns at the trade deadline. In Phoenix, he appeared in seven games and put up strong shooting splits in a small sample.
With Bradley Beal, one of Miami’s reported top targets, signing a contract to return to the Los Angeles Clippers this week, the Heat’s options are thinning fast. That makes a player like Highsmith, with his experience and familiarity, a logical name to watch as Miami looks for back-end help in the rotation.
In Other News...
Giannis Is Already Giving The Heat A Different Kind Of Star Power
Giannis Antetokounmpo is already bringing a little extra star power to Miami, and it is not coming from a box score. Since landing with the Heat, Antetokounmpo has been linked to a different kind of competition, one that has nothing to do with points or rebounds and everything to do with strategy. He said he would like to play chess against Victor Wembanyama and even floated the idea of reaching out to him in the offseason.
It is the kind of crossover that fits two players who have made a habit of standing out in more than one way. Wembanyama, a two-time All-Star and the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year, also helped push the Spurs to the NBA Finals, while Antetokounmpo has long been one of the leagues biggest names on and off the floor. Whether the matchup ever happens is still an open question, but the idea alone gives Miami a little added buzz while the Heat wait to see how much more of Antetokounmpos personality comes with him. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Fans Will Circle These Kaseya Center Dates Immediately
The Heats 2026-27 schedule is out, and the date book at Kaseya Center already has a few circles around it. Miamis home slate includes a visit from a retooled Washington Wizards group, a matchup with the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks, and what should be one of the more watched nights on the calendar when the building gets a look at a new-look Eastern Conference.
One of the loudest early markers, though, is the kind of game that turns a regular night into an event. There will be plenty of emotion attached when Tyler Herro comes back to Miami in a different uniform, and the calendar also leaves room for one last potential South Florida stop for LeBron James with the Philadelphia 76ers. For a Heat fan base that measures every season against the leagues biggest names, these are the dates that stand out before the first tip even arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Could Be Repeating A Costly Mistake In Building Around Giannis
The Heats offseason roster work always seems to circle back to the same question: how much young talent is Miami willing to move in pursuit of a bigger swing? According to Brett Siegel of Clutch Hoops, the front office may be especially protective of Nikola Jovic, the forward whose development has given the team a younger piece to pair with its veteran core. That stance matters because Miami has been looking at ways to add shooting and deepen the rotation without giving up too much of its future.
One path the Heat have considered involves waiting to see whether Klay Thompson becomes available through a buyout rather than paying a trade price now. It is a familiar kind of patience from a team that has long preferred to keep its flexibility, but it also comes with a risk: if Miami holds firm on its assets, it could miss the chance to land the kind of proven perimeter help that changes a playoff picture. For now, the idea remains speculative, but its the sort of decision that can define how aggressive the Heat really want to be. [Read more 🡒]