Haywood Highsmith Pushing Through Rehab in Return to Brooklyn Nets

Haywood Highsmith is in a unique situation. He's coming off successful surgery to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee, but is expected to be one of the Brooklyn Nets' key veterans upon his return. However, that expectation may be short-lived, because Highsmith could again be on the move just months into his Nets tenure.

Still, the 28-year-old is fighting hard to get back on the floor. In a video curated by X user NetsKingdom late last week, Highsmith could be seen rehabbing in physical therapy. The video can be found below:

Brooklyn Nets Haywood Highsmith spotted grinding through PT as he works his way back. pic.twitter.com/XKObroaME2
— NetsKingdom 👑🗽 (@NetsKingdomAJ) August 29, 2025

Highsmith, who was acquired alongside a future second-round pick in exchange for a heavily-protected second-round pick in a salary dump deal with the Miami Heat, is set to be the oldest player on Brooklyn's 2025-26 roster—tying fellow offseason addition Terance Mann.

Especially now with incoming rookie and UNC product Drake Powell in the fold, Highsmith's leadership role will be vital to the growth of the Nets' youngsters in year two of the team's complete rebuild. He has legitimate championship experience from his time in Miami, which could be extremely valuable to the development of Powell—who owns a similar skillset to Highsmith—going forward.

While it's not yet known how much of training camp Highsmith is expected to miss, the consensus is that he'll be getting a late start at the bare minimum—which isn't necessarily a bad thing. He's now a leader, and he'll begin the 2025-26 season from the sidelines, almost in a coach-like role. For a team as inexperienced as Brooklyn is, having a player like Highsmith to help in ways beyond his play is highly valuable.

For context, look at how Ziaire Williams was able to resurrect his NBA career after just a few months playing alongside Dorian Finney-Smith. It's not well-documented whether the latter served as a mentor to Williams, but one has to assume: they're both defensive-minded wings who were on the same team, and there's a nine-year age gap between the two. It's a safe bet Finney-Smith at least offered advice.

That's exactly how the Highsmith-Powell relationship could end up being. Powell soaks up as much knowledge as he can from a six-year NBA vet, learning the ins and outs of the league before the Nets trade Highsmith at February's deadline for multiple second-round picks.

That outcome is no guarantee but seems quite realistic—especially since Brooklyn is the one who created such a blueprint as recently as last season.