After being acquired by the Heat on Tuesday, Terry Rozier will be available to make his debut with his new team on Wednesday vs. Memphis, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Heat have confirmed the news.
Heat forward Caleb Martin, who played with Rozier in Charlotte, referred to the veteran guard as a “great teammate” and a tough competitor who will “fit right in” with the Heat, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Martin, Tyler Herro, and Kevin Love all pointed out that the club will benefit from having another contributor capable of putting up 25 or 30 points on any given night.
“It is increasingly important and paramount to have a weapon and a scoring threat out there on the floor at really every position,” Love said. “But somebody who can put points up in a hurry. With teams and offenses scoring so many points and the offensive ratings continuing to go up, usage continuing to go up — I mean, we had two guys score over 60, a guy score 70 (on Monday). It just goes to show you how important that is in this league now.”
While some analysts have expressed concern about the way that Rozier’s and Herro’s skill sets overlap, Herro believes they’ll complement one another well and is looking forward to playing with pace alongside his new teammate.
“We both can play on the ball and off the ball,” Herro said, according to Jackson. “We both can catch and shoot or dribble and shoot. We also can play-make for our teammates. We’re both younger. I think we’ll play faster. Get the ball up the floor. That’s what I want to be a part of and I think the rest of us do too.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- The Heat ranked 25th in offensive rating last season and are 20th so far this season, including 28th in January. With that in mind, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald takes an in-depth look at Rozier’s offensive game and considers how having him in the mix will boost the club on that end of the floor.
- One NBA scout who spoke to Jackson of The Miami Herald acknowledged that Rozier isn’t a great defender and that he has a tendency to occasionally force shots, but called the trade a “great move” for the Heat. “This is a no-brainer to me, from the Heat’s standpoint. He’s perfect for them,” the scout said. “… His play-making is a tad underrated. He sees people. He can penetrate. He can get in the lane and dish. He can run pick-and-roll. He’s more of a point guard than Herro. You have to guard him.”
- In another story for The Herald, Jackson explores the Heat’s draft pick situation, pointing out that – due to the Stepien rule – the 2030 pick is the only first-rounder the team can still freely trade.
- Although Caleb Martin has been an important part of the Heat’s rotation, the deal for Rozier means his situation is worth monitoring, notes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. As Winderman explains, it will be more challenging financially for Miami to keep Martin beyond the season with Rozier’s contract on the books; plus, the Heat could potentially move below the first tax apron and become a player on the buyout market by moving off of Martin’s expiring contract at the trade deadline. Of course, Martin will have more value than just about any player who will be available in the buyout market, so Miami is unlikely to move him purely for financial reasons.