The arrest of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier for his alleged role in an illegal gambling scheme has led to questions about whether the NBA should revisit the January 2024 trade that sent him from the Charlotte Hornets to Miami.
Authorities found what they deemed was sufficient evidence to arrest Rozier, but prior to the arrest, the NBA never found enough evidence on its own to punish the guard.
The Heat weren’t informed of the red flag before the 2024 trade happened. ESPN’s Bobby Marks explained to the Miami Herald why it’s a “gray area” as to whether Miami should’ve been notified of the matter before the trade.
“That’s because 10 months before the Heat acquired Rozier from the Hornets through a trade midway through the 2023-24 season, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity involving Rozer in the hours before the Hornets’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans in March 2023,” wrote Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “This sparked an investigation by the NBA, with the league determining Rozier did not violate NBA rules.
“But following its own protocol, the NBA did not inform the Heat (or other teams) of that red flag or its investigation in the months that followed, nor did it inform the Heat prior to the league approving the January 2024 trade that sent Rozier to the Heat for Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick, multiple sources told The Miami Herald.
“The Hornets also did not inform the Heat, sources said, though Charlotte is refusing to say if they were even aware of the matter at the time of the trade.
“The question is should the Hornets and/or NBA have informed the Heat of the investigation and its results before finalizing the trade? It’s complicated.
“‘It’s a gray area,’ ESPN front office insider and former [Brooklyn] Nets executive Bobby Marks said to the Miami Herald, with the Heat (2-1) set to close its two-game homestand on Tuesday against the Hornets (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun) following Sunday’s impressive 115-107 win over the New York Knicks at Kaseya Center. ‘As part of NBA trade calls, teams are required to disclose medical information that would prevent a player from playing basketball. There’s nowhere in the NBA operations manual, at least I haven’t found it, where it says that the NBA is obligated to disclose information that a player has been investigated or is currently being investigated.’
“Marks admits, though, ‘if I was the Heat, I would have wanted to know.'”
Rozier was among a few NBA figures arrested last week as part of a crackdown on allegedly rigged poker games and illegal sports betting. Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones were also arrested.
With regard to Rozier, the arrest is the latest chapter in what has to be seen as one of the worst trades in Heat history. Legal troubles aside, his play with Miami never justified what the team gave up to acquire him, with the veteran even falling out of head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation.
Rozier was serviceable in the 2023-24 campaign with the Heat after coming over in the midseason trade, but he was unavailable in the 2024 NBA Playoffs due to injury. The vibes didn’t improve from there, with the former first-round pick suffering through a brutal 2024-25 season in which he shot just 39.1 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from deep.
He didn’t see any action this season before his arrest.
By last season, the Heat front office reportedly knew it made a mistake with the Rozier trade, so one has to imagine that the franchise would take it all back if it could. It may seem like forever ago at this point, but the deal was initially met with optimism by many who felt like Rozier would give the Heat a major backcourt boost.
What will happen with the Rozier situation from here is anyone’s guess, as there are more questions than answers as of now.