Why Heat didn’t agree to Terry Rozier-for-Marcus Smart swap, and latest Rozier trade buzz
With trade rumors swirling around forward Andrew Wiggins, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra offered a public endorsement of Wiggins and vocalized the team’s commitment to him earlier this month.
In addition, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald that the Heat’s plan is to keep Wiggins on its roster for the start of training camp in late September, barring something unforeseen.
“Wiggs had some really good moments with us,” Spoelstra said while speaking to reporters in Las Vegas in mid-July. “Before he got hurt, he was exactly what we needed and wanted out of that position. I think there’s still real opportunity for growth with him as he gets comfortable with us. He’s already down in Miami right now and will be bringing his family in. He’s going to be here most of August and September, I think just to get more acclimated. And I think that’s really important for him.”
But the Heat remains open to trading guard Terry Rozier ahead of the start of this upcoming season, according to multiple league sources.
In fact, there were discussions between the Heat and the Washington Wizards regarding a Rozier trade earlier this offseason.
“Miami weighed a Rozier-for-Smart swap but could not reach an organizational consensus on whether such a trade was a clear upgrade,” according to NBA reporter Jake Fischer. “Smart ultimately secured a buyout from Washington on July 19 that ultimately enabled him to sign with the Lakers as a free agent.”
Multiple league sources confirmed those trade talks between the Heat and Wizards took place this summer. While a Rozier-for-Smart swap would have made sense for the Heat because Smart was on a cheaper expiring contract ($21.6 million salary for this upcoming season prior to agreeing to a buyout with the Wizards) than Rozier’s expiring deal ($26.6 million salary for this upcoming season), a league source indicated the Heat ultimately did not make the trade because of the draft capital it would have needed to attach to Rozier to faciliate such a deal.
While the Heat continues to explore trades for Rozier, it is hesitant to sacrifice future draft capital or salary cap flexibility to simply dump his expiring contract.
Roizer, 31, is coming off arguably the worst season of his NBA career. He began last season as a Heat starter and was expected to be one of the team’s top offensive players, but he instead completely fell out of the Heat’s rotation toward the end of the season.
Rozier averaged 10.6 points per game on 39.1% shooting from the field and 29.5% shooting from three-point range in 64 appearances last regular season. That’s the fewest points he has averaged and the worst field-goal percentage he has recorded in a season since his fourth NBA season in 2018-19, with Rozier’s three-point percentage his worst for a season since his rookie year in 2015-16.
Rozier is also being investigated by federal prosecutors to determine whether he manipulated his performance as part of an illegal sports betting scheme in a March 2023 game while he was with the Charlotte Hornets. This investigation remains ongoing.
Rozier was one of only four players in the NBA who shot worse than 40% from the field and worse than 30% on threes while playing in at least 60 games last regular season. That list also includes Tidjane Salaun, Ricky Council IV and Jett Howard.
The Heat traded Kyle Lowry’s $29.7 million expiring contract and a first-round pick to the Hornets to acquire Rozier in the middle of the 2023-24 season. After averaging 20 points per game on 43.6% shooting from the field and 37.2% shooting from three-point range in 298 appearances (298 starts) through five regular seasons with the Hornets, Rozier has averaged just 12.5 points per game on 40.4% shooting from the field and 32.3% shooting from behind the arc in 95 appearances (53 starts) through two regular seasons with the Heat.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM.
