The arrest of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier for his alleged role in illegal gambling has led to questions about whether the NBA should reconsider the January 2024 trade that sent him from the Charlotte Hornets to Miami.
Authorities found what they thought was enough evidence to arrest Rozier, but before the arrest, the NBA never found enough evidence on its own to punish the guard.
The Heat were not informed of the red flag before the 2024 trade took place. ESPN’s Bobby Marks explained Miami Herald why it is a “gray area” whether Miami should have been notified of the matter before the trade.
“That’s because 10 months before the Heat acquired Rozier from the Hornets via a midseason 2023-24 trade, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity involving Rozer hours before the Hornets’ March 2023 game against the New Orleans Pelicans,” wrote Anthony Chiang of Miami Herald. “This prompted an investigation by the NBA, where the league determined that Rozier had not violated NBA rules.”
“But per its own protocol, the NBA did not inform the Heat (or other teams) of this red flag or its investigation in the months that followed, nor did it inform the Heat before the league approved 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 didn’t notify the Heat, sources said, although Charlotte declined to say whether they were even aware of the matter at the time of the trade.”
“The question is, did the Hornets and/or the NBA inform the Heat of the investigation and its findings prior to the trade? It’s complicated.”
“It’s a gray area,” said the former ESPN insider [Brooklyn] The Heat (2-1) look to close out their two-game homestand Tuesday against the Hornets (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun) after an impressive 115-107 win over the New York Knicks at the Kaseya Center on Sunday, Nets general manager Bobby Marks told the Miami Herald. “As part of NBA trade calls, teams are required to release medical information that could prevent a player from playing basketball. There is nowhere in the NBA operations manual, at least that I haven’t found, that says the NBA is required to release information that a player has been investigated or is currently under investigation.”
Marks admits, though, “if I were the Heat, I’d want to know.”
Rozier was among a handful of NBA players arrested last week as part of a crackdown on alleged 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.
As for Rozier, the arrest is the latest chapter in what must be considered one of the worst trades in Heat history. Legal issues 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 active in the 2023-24 campaign with the Heat after a midseason transfer, but was unavailable for the 2024 NBA playoffs due to injury. The atmosphere didn’t improve from there, with the former first-round pick coming off a brutal 2024-25 season in which he shot just 39.1 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from deep.
He did not see any action this season before his arrest.
Last season, the Heat front office knew they made a mistake with the Rozier trade, so one has to imagine the franchise would take it all back if they could. It may seem like forever since this point, but the deal was initially met with optimism by many who believed Rozier would give the Heat a major boost in the backcourt.
What will happen with the Rozier situation from here is anyone’s guess, as there are currently more questions than answers.