In some senses, the Miami Heat’s trade on Tuesday was long overdue. It was about time that team president Pat Riley made a move to help save this struggling season, which was plagued by poor offence and was unlikely to advance to the NBA playoffs. Kyle Lowry’s departure was more than due. At the age of 37, he would run out. Miami did well to dump the fumes of his fading career on someone else and receive a massive, immediate boost in exchange.
Riley, the maestro, is 78 years old and in the winter of his profession, but he no longer has to run or shoot. He only needs to use his cunning to persuade a willing trade partner that they didn’t simply agree to accept your dead wood while saving you money. He did. So the Heat obtained combo-guard Terry Rozier and his career-high 23.2 scoring average from Charlotte in exchange for Lowry and a protected 2027 first-round draft pick. (Look for the Hornets to try to trade Lowry to the Knicks or someone else.)
On the surface, this trade appears to be a great deal for Riley. The Heat also gets rid of Lowry’s expiring $29.7 million contract in exchange for Rozier, who makes $7.5 million less — yet Rozier is half a career younger at 29, still in his peak, and, by the stats, better than ever. And Miami signed him for the next two seasons before he became a free agent.
