The Miami Heat have been reportedly willing to trade Terry Rozier for “just about anything”, but they might need to accept the fate of letting his near $25 million contract expire.
(Photo via Getty Images)
When the Miami Heat traded for Terry Rozier back in the beginning of 2024, they were expecting a needle moving point guard to help maximize the Jimmy Butler era. Kyle Lowry, who was quickly aging and becoming unplayable, was shipped out in the trade along with a future first-round draft pick.
Not only did the Heat have to attach an asset to get off of Lowry’s contract, but they might need to now do the same if they want to get off of Rozier’s.
Doing so would be a complete malpractice of the front office’s already questionable asset management over the years. It’s not worth it.
Prior to that trade, Rozier was in the midst of a career year. He was averaging 23.2 points, 6.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds on a strong 46% shooting and 36% from 3-point range. Those numbers quickly evaporated as soon as he joined Miami— turning into an even bigger liability than Lowry was at the time of the initial trade.
Terry Rozier was the worst player on the court during most of his appearances last season.
Rozier found himself out of coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation entirely towards the end of last season, and the organization has been desperately searching for a trade partner all offseason. But from the betting accusations, to the significant on-court decline, to the hefty price tag— he is a negative asset across the league.
Ethan Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports Network recently iterated that, at this point, the Heat would be willing to offload Rozier for “just about anything.”
“The Miami Heat, from coaches to front office officials, were as mystified by Terry Rozier’s decline as fans were last season.”
“The Heat have been actively shopping the expiring final year of Rozier’s contract (worth $24-26 million depending on incentives) for just about anything, but specifically frontcourt help.”
— Ethan Skolnick
It would be fair to think that somebody in the league would be willing to take on Rozier’s expiring contract with the goal of opening up cap space next summer. However, it’s easier said than done to assume a team would eat dead money on their books for this upcoming 2025-26 campaign.
That $24-26 million contract particularly hurts the Heat now considering that’s ample money that they could’ve utilized to strengthen other parts of the roster. Most notably their gaping hole at the backup center position.
Rozier may go down as the worst trade in Miami Heat franchise history.
During the initial first 1-2 months of Rozier’s tenure in Miami, he was showing signs. There was a five-game stretch where the guard averaged nearly 30 points per game and displayed an ability to be a clutch-time shot maker.
Then he suffered a mysterious season-ending neck injury, and was never the same since.
Last season, Rozier averaged an abysmal 10.6 points and 2.6 assists on just 39% shooting and 29.5% from deep across 25.9 minutes. It was his lowest scoring, shooting efficiency and playing time since 2018.
Spoelstra attempted to resurrect Rozier’s season last year by eventually moving him to a sixth man role, but the same on-court struggles were shown. And now that Miami has been unable to find a trade partner, they have no choice but to just let his contract expire and move on from the failed experiment.
The only other option would be hoping for a bounce back campaign from Rozier (wishful thinking), or waiting to see if a suitor looking for cap space emerges by the trade deadline.
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