The Miami Heat haven’t made any waves this off-season. The organization’s name came up in several trade talks, but nothing materialized for the Florida-based ball club. Terry Rozier seems to have dampened the Heats’ appetite to acquire more players in a happening trade market, and recent comments from GM Andy Elisburg testify to this being the case.
During a recent conversation with SiriusXM NBA Radio Heat GM Andy Elisburg spoke on the Heat’s off-season moves, and their plan going forward.
“Our free agent move this year was the Terry (Rozier) move. We just decided to do it early.” Elisburg said during his appearance on the show.
Andy Elisburg on Heat’s quiet offseason: “Our free agent move this year was the Terry [Rozier] move. We just decided to do it early… Probably took us out of being able to do something with the mid-level, with sign-and-trades because of the apron rules that prevent that.”
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The Heat traded away Kyle Lowry’s expiring contract of $29.7 million and packaged it with a first-round pick to get Rozier’s expiring contract, which is about $5.2 million cheaper. But in bringing on Rozier, the Heat placed themselves close to the second apron, which forced them to let Caleb Martin walk for free. If they hadn’t onboarded Rozier, they would have had enough space for another mid-level contract besides Martin that they could have used. But when they traded for Rozier in January, they gave away any financial leverage they had, and it’s shown this off-season. Elisburg even gave a similar line of reasoning while explaining the Heat’s financial constraints in attracting more free-agent. He said,
“Probably took us out of being able to do something with the mid-level, with sign-and-trades because of the apron rules that prevent that.”
The second apron brings with it heavy enough penalties that the Heat aren’t interested in sacrificing anymore to slightly improve their roster with a mid-level signing. The team will have to contend with a nearly identical roster to that of last year and the Heat might be able to pull off their version of a Big 3.
Terry Rozier can join Bam and Jimmy to form a pseudo-Big 3
The Miami Heat had one of the most decorated trios in NBA history but those days are gone and Erik Spoelstra will have to contend with whatever personnel he now has. Bam Adebayo has turned out well and the Heat still have Jimmy Butler. The duo of Bam and Butler seem to be good enough to carry the Heat to the playoffs but contending is a different matter altogether.
Rozier will be the X factor in the Heat’s dream to contend. The 30-year-old did great things in Charlotte but the demands of the playoffs require the star guard to take the jump from star to All-Star and it has to happen quickly. But if all goes smoothly the Heat will have the best two-way trio in the game.
Bam is the best if not one of the defensive big in the league. Among small forwards and shooting guards, there are only a handful that can match Butler’s two-way motor, and Rozier has to replicate the same at the guard spot. Moving forward, the Heat will most probably try to play a 3-and-D playstyle with an emphasis on rebounding for second chances, and kick-outs for shooters Duncan Robinson and Tyler Hero.
