Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is still under federal investigation for his potential connection to a gambling scheme related to his time with the Charlotte Hornets.
With the investigation drawing negative attention to the Heat organization and perhaps clouding Rozier’s future, Five Reasons Sports’ Ethan J. Skolnick said that the investigation is viewed as “toxic” in a potential Rozier trade.
“The problem is the FBI has him under investigation now,” Skolnick said. “And FBI investigations almost never end when you think they’re gonna end. And as long as he’s under that investigation, he’s — I’ve talked to four people around the league who just use the same word: It’s toxic in a trade.
“This isn’t even coming from the Heat. … He’s untradeable because teams don’t know how that’s gonna play out, even if they thought they could rehabilitate him as a player.”
There’s a chance the Heat would have had trouble finding a team they could offload Rozier to even if this investigation never came to light.
Rozier was woefully off his game in his first full season in Miami. He did not give the team the scoring punch it hoped for, as the guard averaged just 10.6 points per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from deep in 64 games played last season.
Keep in mind, Rozier isn’t that far removed from being a solid scorer at the highest level. He averaged 23.2 points per game across 30 contests with Charlotte in the 2023-24 campaign before being dealt to Miami.
Not many players have had greater falls from grace over the last year or so than Rozier. But if the Heat can’t find a team that will take him on with the investigation combined with his recent subpar play, maybe he will be able to redeem himself with a much-improved 2025-26 season in Miami.
With the Heat lacking great depth at the point guard position, head coach Erik Spoelstra could still turn to Rozier at times in the coming season if he’s still with the team. A return to form for the veteran would certainly give the squad a nice boost that it likely isn’t counting on as of now.
However, if the investigation incriminates Rozier, there’s a possibility that he doesn’t get another chance to bounce back in the NBA, with Miami or any other team. That may be unlikely based on the way the situation has progressed up to this point, but Heat fans should still be anticipating the outcome of the investigation.