This 2024-25 season has been a real bummer for the Miami Heat. First we were presented with the abomination of a Dwyane Wade statue. Then we had franchise legend Jimmy Butler quit on the team (which might or might not have been related to the ugliness of that Wade statue). But the most awful punishment for Heat fans was having to watch Terry Rozier.
Scary Terry lived up to his nickname, chucking up ill advised three point shots and turning the ball over as though he bet against the Heat (which is not out of the realm of possibilities as we’ll go over). Worst of all the Heat owe the Charlotte Hornets a future first round draft pick.
But was trading for Terry Rozier the worst trade in Miami Heat history? Let’s analyze by reviewing the five worst Miami Heat trades.
5. July 30, 2000 – Miami Heat trade Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown and 3 others to Charlotte Hornets for Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason and 2 others.
I know what you’re thinking, this trade wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t, which is a credit to how many good trades the Heat have made over the franchise’s 37 years. Eddie Jones was a leading scorer for the Heat and Anthony Mason made an all-star team. But one year after the trade, the Heat played the Hornets in the first round of the 2001 playoffs and the Hornets walloped Miami. The Hornets swept them three games to zero and it wasn’t even that close. Jones played ok, but Mashburn outplayed him, while Mason completely disappeared. The Heat missed the playoffs the following two years.
4. September 8, 1992 – Miami Heat trade a first round draft pick to Detroit Pistons for John Salley.
John Salley was the first Miami Heat player I ever truly hated. Any time he came into the game it seemed disaster followed. The worst disaster was when the Heat regressed and missed the playoffs after trading for Salley and had to give up a lottery pick for the bum. With that #10 pick the Heat could have selected Allan Houston and prevented all kinds of trauma on their fan base.
3. January 23, 2024 – Miami Heat trade a first round pick and Kyle Lowry to Charlotte Hornets for Terry Rozier.
Is this trade too low on the list? Maybe. The Heat were letting go of Kyle Lowry after the 2024 season anyway. But that first round pick is what’s painful. It’s unprotected. If the Heat are awful in the future that could potentially be a #1 pick in 2028. But even worse than losing that pick is the punishment of having to watch Terry Rozier. Rozier has been investigated for altering his play as part of an illegal sports betting scheme. Unfortunately, Rozier was cleared, so now Heat fans can’t even blame corruption for his awful game play.
2. November 8, 1994 – Miami Heat trade Steve Smith and Grant Long to Atlanta Hawks for Kevin Willis and a first round draft pick.
Steve Smith was the best. Any time he got a defensive rebound, you knew excitement was brewing. He’d lead a fast break with a no look pace or finish it himself after a hesitation dribble. But after leading the Heat to their first two playoff runs, the pre-Riley Heat decided they’d go for age over youth and trade Smith and Grant Long for the geriatric, short armed Kevin Willis. Grant Long by himself was playing better basketball than Willis, but to throw in Smith as well after three electric seasons was unforgivable. But misery loves company. A year and a half later after Riley took over, the Heat made possibly their best trade ever by shipping Willis to Golden State for Tim Hardaway.
1. February 14, 1998 – Miami Heat trade Ike Austin and first round draft pick to Los Angeles Clippers for Brent Barry.
In a vacuum this trade doesn’t look so bad. Austin all but disappeared from the league after this trade while Barry went on to have a solid career winning championships with the Spurs, but this trade is all about context. Austin had won Most Improved Player the year before backing up the oft-injured Alonzo Mourning. Riley was worried about losing Austin in the summer as a free agent.
The only problem was the Heat still had a season to play. A season where Miami was a championship contender. At the worst time Alonzo Mourning got in a fistfight with the New York Knicks’ Larry Johnson. In a deciding playoff game 5 Zo was suspended, and the Heat did not have a back-up center. The Knicks slaughtered the Heat in that game 5. Brent Barry didn’t play a single minute for the Heat in the playoffs. He then left the Heat as a free agent that summer and the Clippers still got a first round pick out of it.
