NBA Trade Grades: Heat Swap Kyle Lowry for Terry Rozier
The reigning Eastern Conference champs are making a move.
The Miami Heat acquired guard Terry Rozier from the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, sending Kyle Lowry and a protected first-round pick in exchange. Rozier, 29, is averaging 23.2 points per game this season. He has two more years left on his contract. Lowry, 37, is in the final season of a three-year pact he signed with Miami in 2021.
Let’s grade the deal for both sides.
Rozier can immediately help the Heat, but leaves flexibility if Miami wants to move his contract again.
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Heat: B+
I’m of two minds about this trade for Miami, but the longer I sit with it, the more I like it. Rozier is a clear upgrade over Lowry at this point in their careers. Scary Terry gives the Heat a lot of what they desperately lack—offensive aggression from the point guard position, a player who can consistently get to the rim and a natural pick-and-roll partner for Bam Adebayo. All of these traits should inject energy into a moribund Miami offense in dire need of more juice. Rozier also has playoff experience, playing in 50 postseason games, including 19 starts for a Boston Celtics team that made the 2018 conference finals. Rozier’s defense may not be perfect, but Erik Spoelstra is the coach perhaps best equipped to work around it, and Rozier has at least survived in some high-stakes moments. He will undoubtedly help this team immediately.
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There are two small hiccups preventing this move from earning higher marks. First, will Rozier fit alongside Tyler Herro in Miami’s backcourt? I still think the Heat have an issue there. Herro has improved quite a bit, but his fit with the Heat’s two stars (Adebayo and Jimmy Butler) is not the cleanest. The Rozier move doesn’t quell those concerns. And second, that first-round pick slightly hinders Miami in the event the front office wants to go star hunting in the summer. Rozier’s contract is movable if that’s the case, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
Hornets: A
There wasn’t going to be a robust market for Rozier despite his talents, because his contract—while reasonable—isn’t the easiest for contenders to fit in. Acquiring an expiring contract plus a first-round pick is smart business. Charlotte isn’t going anywhere right now. Becoming a dumping ground for bad salaries with first-round picks attached isn’t exciting, but it’s also partially how the Oklahoma City Thunder jump-started their rebuild. Clearing cap room gives the Hornets more flexibility on that front. If Charlotte adds some more picks at the deadline, and then hits in the lottery this summer, they could be in a position to turn things around in the near future.
