Transactions usually have a way of providing clarity about an NBA team’s direction. By trading Haywood Highsmith and signing Dru Smith, the Miami Heat are doing the exact opposite. Only two things feel certain in the aftermath: They were never going to pay the luxury tax, and making another trade is either likely or inevitable.
This could end up being a dramatization of two mid-August moves. Highsmith is recovering from knee surgery, and for as much Miami loves it some Dru Smith, he’s not returning to play a ton of minutes, or run the offense.
The timing and process here is nevertheless suspect—so much so it should mean the Heat aren’t done.