A done deal. The Miami Heat have increasingly engaged in talks for a trade built around swapping Kyle Lowry for Hornets point guard Terry Rozier, and just like that, the deal is done.
That’s according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reported on Twitter/X this morning: “The Charlotte Hornets are trading Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat for a 2027 first-round pick and Kyle Lowry, sources tell ESPN.”
The Charlotte Hornets are trading Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat for a 2027 first-round pick and Kyle Lowry, sources tell ESPN.
The move comes amid year-long speculation about the Heat seeking increased depth at point guard and a willingness to part with the expiring contract of point guard Kyle Lowry as a way to get a deal done.
Also a factor: finances. The Heat are eager to maintain financial flexibility going forward as the NBA brings new luxury-tax rules online that will make it more difficult to keep and move players. The Heat passed on the chance to pursue higher priced stars like Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard in the past year, instead opting for the more reasonably priced Rozier, who is in the second year of a four-year, $96 million extension he signed in 2021.
Miami Heat Trade Made With Pressure to Keep Pace in the East
The move comes amid a frustrating three-game losing streak that has dropped the Miami Heat to 24-19, sixth in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Indiana Pacers. It also comes as the Heat’s midrange East competitors, the Knicks and Pacers, have both made major moves in recent weeks.
The Knicks traded for star win OG Anunoby from Toronto on December 30 and have gone 9-2 sine. The Pacers added Pascal Siakam, also in a deal with the Raptors, on January 18, and Siakam has only played two games with his new team (both losses).
Clearly, the Heat were in a position in which they would need to do something to keep pace with the top teams in the conference and defend their status as the reigning Eastern Conference champs. The Celtics are still the best in the East, and added point guard Jrue Holiday and center Kristaps Porzingis in the offseason. The Bucks made the much-ballyhooed Damian Lillard trade, too.
The No. 3 team in the East, the Sixers, traded away James Harden but added a number of key role players, most notably Nicolas Batum.
Erik Spolestra: ‘A Rough Stretch for Us Offensively’
The Heat have gone 5-7 in their last 12 games, as the team has hit an offensive grind over the past month. They have an offensive rating of 107.4 in that stretch, which is 29th in the NBA. The addition of Terry Rozier, who is averaging 23.2 points, 45.9% shooting, 35.8% 3-point shooting and 6.6 assists, should help.
“In December we were trending in a better direction,” Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said on Monday, per the Miami Herald. “It’s just been a rough stretch for us offensively the last handful of games. You also don’t want to totally overreact. That’s what I want our group to understand.
“There are going to be some disappointing parts of a season, and you just have to rally around each other and get to work and start to find solutions, and that’s what we’ll do.”
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Miami Heat Pull Off Major Trade, Adding $96 Million Guard for Kyle Lowry