No Rozier capsheet relief for the Miami Heat.... yet

It's been a near-perfect start for the revamped Miami Heat.

They're 3-1, although Tyler Herro has missed all four games and Norman Powell missed the last one. They are first in the NBA in scoring, using a new more free-flowing style. And after a tough second season, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is an early Sixth Man of the Year candidate.

There still, however, is one hangover.

Terry Rozier is away from the team indefinitely, and while he wasn't counted on for a role this season, it doesn't appear that the Heat will be getting relief on their salary cap and luxury tax ledgers, at least not yet, and not even though what led to the FBI investigation that led to his arrest allegedly occurred while he was still a Charlotte Hornet, and prior to his trade to Miami in 2024.

For now, Miami will only get to not pay his salary; it was reported first by the Associated Press on Monday that Rozier will not be compensated while away.

Terry Rozier is not going to receive his salary while on leave from the Miami Heat, sources tells AP.

Details are still being worked out but his salary will likely be held in some sort of account pending resolution of legal case.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) October 29, 2025

Rozier's salary will be held in an account until the legal case is resolved. He was scheduled to make north of $26 million this season. There's little to no chance he will play for the Heat again. While Rozier struggled greatly in 2024-25, his absence does leave the team's roster a little thinner than they'd like. They were already carrying only 14 of 15 possible standard contract players, and now it's 13.

The Heat aren't likely to add another untl sometime in December, when it won't have cap or tax consequences. They are hoping to get Herro back soon, however, and the team's early success has put some of the Rozier mess to the background. It's not clear Rozier could have functioned in this offense anyway; the team's offensive rating tanked when he played last season, and this new system relies on quick actions, not a lot of dribbling. Rozier dribbles a lot.

In the end, the Rozier trade will go down as one of the more regrettable in franchise history, considering the Heat gave up a first-round pick and a hefty expiring contract (Kyle Lowry) to get him. But it does appear that the Heat have started to successfully turn the page from the Rozier and Jimmy Butler situations -- and if the NBA grants some relief or compensation for their trouble down the road, all the better.

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