After all, Terry Rozier is going to get paid this season.
The Miami Heat guard reportedly won his salary dispute with the league on Monday. The arbitrator ruled that players cannot be furloughed except in cases of domestic abuse or child abuse, so Rozier’s salary will now be released.
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The Heat and NBA have agreed to put this season’s salary in escrow after Rozier. Rozier has not played a game for the Heat this season and is in the final year of a four-year, $96.2 million contract. He is expected to make more than $26.6 million this season and will become a free agent this summer.
“We are pleased with the arbitrator’s decision and remain committed to ensuring Terry’s due process rights are protected and that he is afforded the presumption of innocence throughout this process,” the NBA Players Association said in a statement.
Rozier, who has pleaded not guilty, shared the inside information with an individual who then shared the information with bettors, officials said. Rozier reportedly exited a game during the 2022-23 season with a foot injury while still playing just nine minutes with the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier allegedly told a co-worker that he was leaving early, who then sold that information to gamblers who bet thousands of dollars on Rozier’s games.
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The operation also resulted in the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones as part of a massive gambling operation. Billups and Jones were arrested in separate cases. Both Billups and Rozier have been suspended by the NBA.
Rozier has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges, and his attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case in December.
Rozier averaged 10.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game with the Heat last season, his 10th season in the league. The team acquired him before the 2023-24 deadline and sent Kyle Lowry to Charlotte.
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Although Rozier won’t play this season and the Heat must now pay him, the organization still believes it can trade him before Thursday’s deadline, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports. However, it remains to be seen whether another team will choose to pick him up amid his legal proceedings.
