After what felt like a no-brainer steal for the Miami Heat, giving up an aging veteran guard and a first-round pick for a 20-point scorer in Terry Rozier, the partnership has been anything but perfect.
Hindsight always makes mistakes even worse than they are, and this situation isn’t anything different. While Kyle Lowry’s production certainly decreased compared to his previous seasons with the Heat, attaching assets to move him for a player who fell out of the rotation entirely has turned out to be a massive failure. Bleacher Report breaks down why Rozier is one of the most overpaid backcourt players in the league.
2025-26 Season Cap Hit: $26,643,031
Percentage of Salary Cap: 17.23
“Last year represented his absolute nadir. His minutes (25.9) and points (10.6) per game were their lowest since 2018-19, and his 29.5 percent clip from downtown was the second-worst of his career,” the article wrote. “A bounce-back campaign isn’t out of the question for someone who can rain threes off the catch, movement, and dribble.”
Rozier’s heavy isolation style, where he thrived with the Charlotte Hornets, hasn’t been a great fit with the Heat. A significant reason for his decreasing success has been his inability to knock down perimeter shots, as he only made 29.5 percent of his three-point attempts last year. With the Heat leaning towards a younger direction and seemingly improving their roster’s depth, his chances of playing again remain very slim.
“This assumes Rozier is an active part of the rotation,” the article continued. “Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, and Davion Mitchell are all ahead of him in the pecking order. He must now also contend for minutes with Pelle Larsson, Dru Smith, and rookie Kasparas Jakucionis.”
ESPN explains Miami Heat’s most significant weakness isn’t what you think
Even though Jimmy Butler often coasted during the regular season, there were several aspects the Miami Heat desperately lacked outside of him on their roster.
The Heat losing Butler was always going to be difficult to replace, considering his consistent and increasing production in the postseason. One significant value the roster has struggled to replicate without him has been his ability to get to the free-throw line. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton breaks down why the Heat’s offseason moves may lead to improvement in that area for the upcoming season.
“After trading Jimmy Butler III, the Heat’s perimeter-oriented attack struggled to get to the line,” the article wrote. “Only the Celtics had a worse free-throw rate after the All-Star break, and Miami attempted just 13.3 per game in a first-round sweep by Boston, second lowest in playoff history … ahead of the 2024 Heat (12.0). Adding Norman Powell (4.4 FTA per game) should help.”
With the emergence of Tyler Herro’s first All-Star appearance, a career high of 4.2 attempts from the free-throw line became an underrated part of his game. Unfortunately, Bam Adebayo’s transition into a more perimeter-oriented playstyle and increased three-point shooting led to the lowest free-throw rate of his career. Powell’s three-level scoring ability and an internal improvement from their younger core players should lead to higher production drawing fouls this season.
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