The NBPA won an appeal on Monday for Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier to be paid his full salary for this season, as per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Rozier was due to make $26.6 million this season in the final year of his contract. Rozier had been put on leave by the NBA earlier this season amid a federal probe into an illegal gambling operation.
Terry Rozier has since pleaded not guilty to any charges surrounding the gambling probe, and he has not appeared in any games for the Heat this season. The charges were first revealed back in late October amid the start of the NBA season.
In a concurrent investigation, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was also arrested and accused of allegedly participating in rigged poker games. Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested as part of the gambling probe.
The Heat had still been on the hook for Rozier’s salary in terms of it counting against the salary cap, but his salary had been withheld amid the court proceedings. At the forefront of the cap implications were the Heat being able to use Rozier’s expiring salary in a potential trade at the deadline. He had been in the final year of a four-year contract he signed with the Charlotte Hornets back in 2022.
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The No. 16 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Rozier had been entering his second full season with the Heat after being traded by the Hornets at the 2023-24 deadline. Last season, he appeared in 64 games, including 23 starts, at a little over 25 minutes per game.
He averaged 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists with splits of 39.1 percent shooting from the field, 29.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 85.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Rozier began his NBA career with the Boston Celtics were he played for four seasons before being traded to the Hornets in a sign-and-trade deal involving Kemba Walker ahead of the 2019-20 season.