Terry Rozier has yet to play for the Miami Heat this season. He was arrested and indicted in October as part of a wide-ranging federal gambling investigation that uncovered two separate cases with a total of 34 defendants.
But the 32-year-old guard remains on the Heat’s roster with 13 games left in the regular season. However, it is reported that he will not stay for long.
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The Heat are expected to waive Rozier before the end of the regular season to make room on the playoff roster, the Miami Herald and ESPN reported Thursday.
Rozier was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. In December, he pleaded not guilty.
Before Rozier played just nine minutes in a March 2023 game due to a foot injury and committed to the Charlotte Hornets, Rozier was accused of sharing inside information about his early exit, allegedly causing his co-conspirators to bet more than $200,000 on his bets.
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Rozier is one of six defendants, along with former NBA guard and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Damon Jones, in the illegal gambling case, which centers on the trading of non-public information about the health and availability of NBA players.
The other case, which focuses on a Mafia-backed rigged poker ring, also names Jones as a defendant, along with several others, most notably Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups.
The NBA placed both Billups and Rozier on leave, but Rozier won a salary dispute with the league in February. While his $26.6 million salary for the 2025-26 season was initially placed in escrow, it has reportedly been released to him. The change comes after an arbitrator ruled that under the terms of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, players cannot take unpaid leave unless they are involved in a domestic abuse or child abuse case, according to a February 2 report from ESPN.
Rozier is in the final year of a four-year, $96.2 million contract. Because that contract is expiring, he must be waived by 5 p.m. on April 9 in order to clear waivers before the end of the regular season on April 12, the Herald and ESPN reported Thursday.
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The Heat acquired Rozier in January 2024 before learning of the unusual betting activity involving Rozier. The NBA ultimately cleared Rozier in its investigation but did not send any notice to the Heat, and the Charlotte Hornets reportedly did not send any notice to the Heat either. The Charlotte Hornets declined to comment in October when asked if they were aware of the NBA investigation at the time of the trade, the Herald reported.
To solve the problem, the Hornets agreed to send a 2026 second-round pick to the Heat earlier this month. Miami acquired Rozier more than two years ago in exchange for veteran Charlotte guard Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick.
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Rozier was traded at the deadline of the 2023-24 season and played 31 games for the Heat. Last season, he played in 64 games, including 23 starts, averaging 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
With Rozier still on the roster, the Heat have a maximum of 15 players on standard contracts. While Miami wouldn’t exceed the luxury tax threshold if it waived Rozier and signed a replacement immediately, waiting to do so allows the Heat to maintain flexibility in the event a player is out due to injury, and points to another benefit of keeping Rozier at No. 15, according to the Herald. Teams with fewer than 15 players on standard contracts can only have two-way contract players on the active roster for 90 NBA games during the regular season, 60 fewer games than teams with 15 games.
Regardless, the Miami Heat are reportedly expected to waive Rozier before the playoffs and, in effect, will be able to move into his roster spot via a signed player or a promoted two-way player.