Heat, Hornets’ Rosters, Salary Cap, Draft Picks after Terry Rozier-Kyle Lowry Trade
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Needing a spark on offense, the Miami Heat made their move Tuesday by acquiring Terry Rozier from the Charlotte Hornets.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Heat will send Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round draft pick to the Hornets for Rozier.
Per Spotrac, the Heat have $179.6 million in total cap allocations by swapping in Rozier’s $23.2 million salary for Lowry’s $29.7 million salary for this season.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted the switch in salaries moves the Heat under the second luxury tax apron for this season, but 2024-25 could be difficult to stay at that level.
The next step in the process is what happens with Lowry. He doesn’t serve any role for the Hornets, who are far out of contention with a 10-31 record.
Wojnarowski noted the Hornets “have no immediate plans” to pursue a buyout with Lowry, who is on an expiring contract, and they will work to see if they can flip him in a separate deal before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
It would be a surprise to see Lowry finish this season on the Hornets roster. The 37-year-old can still be a useful point guard for a playoff contender down the stretch. He’s averaging 8.2 points on 38.5 percent three-point shooting and 4.0 assists per game in 37 appearances this season.
Based on their cap situation, this will probably be the biggest move the Heat make before the deadline. But it’s absolutely a move the reigning Eastern Conference champs needed to make if they want to have a shot at getting back to the NBA Finals.
Scoring has been a big problem for the Heat this season. They rank 20th in offensive rating and 26th in points per game. They’re an efficient three-point shooting team with a 37.8 percent success rate (tied for sixth), but it comes on just 32.9 attempts per game (tied for 20th).
Some of those scoring numbers were likely going to improve without a trade if the Heat could just keep their only players healthy. Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler have combined to miss 33 games this season.
If the Heat want to compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference, they have to be able to score in bunches. The Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers all rank in the top five in points per game and offensive rating.
Rozier should make an immediate impact as soon as he suits up for the Heat. The 29-year-old is averaging a career-high 23.2 points and 6.6 assists per game with a 45.9 percent success rate from the field. He would lead the Heat in both scoring average and assists with those numbers.