Getty Miami Heat president Pat Riley speaks during a ceremony to honor Shaquille O'Neal as he has his number retired during a game between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016.
Former Los Angeles Lakers coach and now Miami Heat president Pat Riley has done it again.
Riley pulled off another heist as the Miami Heat acquired one of the Lakers’ trade targets, Terry Rozier, for the expiring contract of Kyle Lowry and a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick that becomes unprotected in 2028, per multiple reports.
Rozier is one of the players on the Lakers’ radar along with Washington’s Tyus Jones, Utah’s Collin Sexton and Toronro’s Bruce Brown for backcourt help, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Lakers could have easily topped the Heat’s offer. But Riley’s longstanding relationship with Mitch Kupchak, his former Lakers player and ex-Lakers general manager, played a part in consummating the deal between the Heat and the rebuilding Hornets.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hornets will be looking to flip Lowry for an additional draft asset. But Lowry’s $29.6 million salary this season could be too big for contending teams. If he’s not traded, Lowry could become a buyout candidate.
If anything, the Heat-Hornets deal could set the trade market for the other Lakers’ targets. And it also took the Heat out of the Dejounte Murray sweepstakes.
Rozier, 27, is enjoying his best season in the NBA, averaging 23.2 points and 6.6 assists, both career highs.
Lakers Eye Bruce Brown
Perhaps the Lakers’ interest in the 6-foot-1 Rozier is not that high. The Lakers, according to Wojnarowski, have their eyes on the much taller and championship-savvy guard Bruce Brown.
The 6-foot-4 Brown has been on the Lakers’ radar since the offseason.
“You go back to the summer, and they had some confidence that they might be able to sign Bruce Brown in free agency until Indiana stepped up and offered the two-year, $45 million [deal],” Wojnarowski said on NBA Today on January 22. “They didn’t get him. He goes to Indiana. The Lakers tried to see if they could trade for Bruce Brown from the Pacers, [they] didn’t get him. He goes to Toronto as part of the Pascal Siakam deal and they’re going to continue to be on the phone with Toronto between now and the trade deadline, trying to see if there’s a way that they can get Bruce Brown.”
Brown played a key reserve role for the Denver Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, on their way to winning the franchise’s first championship.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Raptors are seeking “a future first-round pick and a quality player … at a minimum” for Brown.
D’Angelo Russell Balling Out Amid Trade Rumors
D’Angelo Russell is having the best stretch of his Lakers career after leading the team to a 134-110 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on January 21 with 34 points and eight assists.
Over his last 5 games, Russell averaged 27.2 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 66.7% and 54.5% from 3 in a strong response to trade rumors.
Russell’s name came up in the Murray trade talks. His inclusion has become the sticking point in the negotiations, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“The Lakers and Hawks did have some pretty extensive conversations about a Dejounte Murray trade a couple of weeks ago,” Charania said on Fanduel TV’s “Run It Back” on January 22. It was centered around D’Angelo Russell, a 2029 first-round draft pick, and a pick swap. I’m told the holdup was that Atlanta wanted to find a third team for D’Angelo Russell.”