By trading Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets, the Miami Heat may have just gifted the LA Clippers a perfect trade target. Highsmith would be a perfect fit in the Clippers’ lineup and could help them give Kawhi Leonard plenty of extra rest. Miami traded Highsmith to save money, and in the process, gave the Clippers a great guy to go after.
Highsmith has been a quality 3-and-D player throughout the course of his time in Miami. He’s spent the past four seasons with the Heat, posting averages of 5.5 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 44.9% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the three-point line, making him an ideal fit for LA.
And they could have a pretty straightforward way of landing him.
How can the Clippers trade for Haywood Highsmith?
The Clippers very clearly have championship goals heading into this season. Despite a first-round exit last year, they had an extremely competitive roster and took the Denver Nuggets to seven games, on the brink of furthering their playoff push.
They made some changes this summer, swapping out Norman Powell for John Collins, bolstering their frontcourt. But they shouldn’t stop pushing there.
Adding Highsmith at some point this season via trade would give LA another 3-and-D body to put alongside James Harden and Leonard. The extra floor spacing and defense would be perfect for what they are aiming to do this year.
Plus, they have a very easy way to trade for him: A TPE.
The Clippers got a roughly $6.5 million trade exception in the PJ Tucker deal, and it expires on February 2, 2026. Highsmith is only slated to make $5.6 million this upcoming season, meaning he would fit into the Tucker TPE.
Since Brooklyn is in a rebuild, and Highsmith is on an expiring deal, trading him for draft capital would make sense, and that’s where the Clippers could come into play.
If they throw some second-round draft picks (or maybe even one) at the Nets, it could be enough to pry Highsmith away from them.
Highsmith may not be a heavy-minute player for the Clippers. He may not even be an every-night player in Ty Lue’s rotations. But having an extra body is extremely valuable, especially as LA looks to traverse the regular season.
LA doesn’t exactly have the best track record with injuries, and giving Leonard, in particular, as much rest time as possible would be a great idea. Highsmith could help with that.
No matter how you spin it, Highsmith makes sense for the Clippers. And the Heat may have just gifted him to them.