There’s no shortage of absolutely abysmal trades in the NBA, but it looks like the Heat making a deal for Terry Rozier could become legendary. Never before have we seen a deal be made for a player who came in, potentially tried to actively hurt his team, then get arrested just over a year later — while giving up what could become a Top 8 (or higher) pick.
Let’s appreciate how this all went down.
It’s January of 2024 and Rozier is on a tear for the Hornets. The team is garbage, but he’s essentially the only bright spot — averaging over 23 points per game and shouldering the load in yet another injury-shortened LaMalo Ball year. On January 14 the horrific Hornets are blown out by the Heat, but critically, Rozier had an amazing game. He scored 26 points against Miami, adding seven assists and five rebounds. It was at this moment Miami decided he could be their missing piece for a playoff run.
On January 23, less than 10 days after playing Miami, the Heat made this big move sending Charlotte PG Kyle Lowry, and most-importantly a future 1st round pick, which would be lottery protected in 2027 and become unprotected in 2028.
At the time it seemed like a really solid deal for both teams. You can’t fault Miami for seeing a 20+ point scorer and wanting him to be their fourth piece alongside Jimmy Buttler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro. Meanwhile the Hornets bought out Lowry, and added more future draft assets for a team destined for a rebuild.
The issue is that Terry wasn’t very good in Miami, not really. Being a fourth option instead of the go-to scorer led to a predictable drop in production, but more worrying was a drop in efficiency. Not only did his field goal percentage take a dip, but so did his assists — which was bizarre considering he was working with a far better offensive team. Rozier also had the same number of turnovers per game, which was concerning considering he was playing fewer minutes in a less prolific role.
Rozier wasn’t the answer. The Heat were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Celtics, and Rozier was hurt — missing the entire series.
Fast forward to the following year, and Rozier is even worse. Now his field goal shooting has dropped below .400, and his three point shooting had dipped below .300 for the first time since his rookie season. Rozier was horrifically inconsistent, vacillating between solid nights, and then absolutely nothing.
In one very bizarre game on December 12 the Heat are huge favorites against the struggling Raptors. They win, 114-104 — but Rozier finished 9th on the team in scoring, shooting 1-of-6 from three and not attempting a single two pointer.
About that trade …
Fast forward to today. The Heat have now traded a 1st round pick for a player who is under arrest by the FBI, with allegations he may have been involved in point shaving. Moreover, if the Heat don’t perform well then the Hornets could get a very high draft pick. All for a dude who arrived, sucked, might have been actively harming the team, and then got arrested.
Despite all this it’s still better than trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first rounds picks for Paul George. Sorry Clippers.
