In what should go down as one of the worst acquisitions in Miami Heat history, the Terry Rozier experience was a failure.

Back when Pat Riley and company traded for the services of Rozier prior to the 2024 trade deadline, the once polarizing scoring guard was in the midst of a career year. He put up 23.2 points, 6.6 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game on nearly 46% shooting and 36% from 3-point range in 30 games for the Charlotte Hornets that season.

Unfortunately, the Heat received a shell of that version of Rozier immediately after.

Those stats have plummeted to 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists on abysmal 39% shooting and 29.5% from deep in his first full season with the Heat this year.

His initial stint post-trade last season in Miami showed some flashes. There was a five-game stretch where Rozier averaged nearly 30 points, until a sudden neck injury derailed the closing stretch of his season.

He made a full recovery to come back healthy at the start of this 2024-25 campaign, and was even slated as the Heat’s starting point guard on opening night. But it didn’t last long.

Rozier went from a starter, to sixth man, to bench piece to complete DNP’s by coach Erik Spoelstra’s decision. He did not receive a single minute of playing time in any of the Heat’s play-in matchups or first round versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In fact, an ankle injury suffered during practice found him on Miami’s injury report in the second half of their four-game sweep to Cleveland.

The Miami Heat need to offload Terry Rozier, but they can’t get desperate.

When Miami traded for Rozier, they sent a quickly declining Kyle Lowry to Charlotte, but they had to attach a first-round draft pick to get the deal done.

They need to learn from that mistake.

Similar to Lowry’s contract situation at the time, Rozier will be on an expiring contract next season. There is no need to add assets to a sunk cost because of an impatience to move on.

In today’s NBA, expiring salaries are more sought after. The reason for that is that those contracts lead to open cap space, which has been as attractive as even landing star players on the trade market in recent years.

Now if the Heat can somehow add Rozier and his salary in a haul to land a disgruntled star this offseason, that could be a route that makes sense.

Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo are each expected to be the biggest names available on the market, and the Heat have the salaries, young players and up to three tradeable first rounders to put together a respectable package. Rozier’s contract is one of those assets.

Perhaps Rozier could benefit at this point of his career in a change of scenery. Regardless of his salary expiring, he could always land elsewhere and re-sign on a much cheaper deal in hopes of reviving his value.

However, a salary dump in a straight up trade just to desperately get off Rozier’s deal is the wrong way to go. It puts Miami in the same exact position they were in when they were shopping Lowry. It’s not worth it.

If a disgruntled star on the trade market doesn’t pan out for the Heat, an eventual divorce from Rozier would have many more suitors at next year’s trade deadline.