Ira Winderman: Midseason moves have been shock therapy for Heat, so is Rozier the latest jolt?
Arguably the biggest moves over the Miami Heat’s 36 seasons have come during offseasons, when there is time for players, coaches and even the front office to reset.
Whether on the eve of seasons, such as the acquisition of Alonzo Mourning in 1995, or during the summer, as was the case with the additions of Shaquille O’Neal in 2004, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010, or Jimmy Butler in 2019, the groundwork of what follows can be established at the outset.
That certainly is not the case with Tuesday’s acquisition of Terry Rozier from the Charlotte Hornets, with the Heat immediately moving into a stretch of three games in four days, including Saturday’s matinee against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
It has, to say the least, been a whirlwind.
So, no, not optimal, but also not necessarily unique.
During the Pat Riley era, the Heat have had a history of major moves on the fly, some that have provided the type of jolt the Heat are seeking at the moment, some that backfired.
The Tim Hardaway lollapalooza: The Heat appeared stuck in the water in the midst of Riley’s first season as Heat coach and president, at 24-29 at midseason and without nearly enough in support.
That’s when, seemingly with nothing to lose, Riley blew it up, acquiring Tim Hardaway, Walt Williams and Chris Gatling, among others, in a Feb. 22, 1996 deal that sent out Kevin Willis, Billy Owens and others.
From there, the Heat moved on to a 42-40 finish and a playoff berth that would signal the start of annual postseason promise.
The Mashburn trade: In a follow-up deal to the Hardaway acquisition, Riley at the 1997 trading deadline dealt for Dallas Mavericks forward Jamal Mashburn, packaging former Heat draft picks Sasha Danilovic, Kurt Thomas and Martin Muursepp.
In some ways it was a move similar to this past week’s Rozier trade, with moving for offense to balance the roster’s defensive bent.
The Brent Barry gambit: Here, again, Riley opted to live in the moment, hoping for an offensive boost, trading Isaac Austin, Charles Smith and a first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 19, 1998 for Brent Barry.
In some ways, this also was similar to Heat money moves that would follow, with the Heat not positioned to meet Austin’s free-agency price that summer.
Barry never fit the Heat culture, gone that offseason.
Shaq offloaded: In a move that had certain parallels to the offloading of Kyle Lowry for Rozier, the Heat dealt an increasingly discontented O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 6, 2008 for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.
Ultimately, it was a move that only helped the Heat improve lottery odds.
Then another O’Neal deal: As a follow up to the previous year’s deal at the trading deadline, the Heat sent Marion and Banks to the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 13, 2009 for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon.
It was a forward-thinking move that would aid the Heat’s salary-cap position for the 2010 signings of James and Bosh.
The Bibby fiasco: In an attempt to upgrade the backcourt, similar to the hopes with the Rozier deal, the Heat swapped out Carlos Arroyo for Mike Bibby at the March 2011 buyout deadline. The move proved to be an unmitigated playoff disaster.
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Enter Birdman: And sometimes the subtle moves work, with the Heat in January 2013 adding Chris “Birdman” Andersen ahead of the run to the 2013 championship.
The Dragic trade: As with the Rozier trade, this was another time when the Heat cast their draft future to the wind, dealing a pair of first-round picks to the Phoenix Suns as part of a bigger deal for Goran Dragic, arguably the Heat’s most significant midseason acquisition since Hardaway.
This also was the day the Heat learned that Chris Bosh would be sidelined for a blood-clot condition that eventually would end his career.
As with the Rozier trade, this was another affirmation of Riley’s commitment to live in the contention moment.
Money deals: In what would be the start of midseason deals aimed at easing salary-cap and luxury-tax concerns, moves often at the cost of second-round picks, the Heat offloaded the contract of Andersen to the Memphis Grizzlies at the February 2016 trading deadline.
Wade’s return: After a season and a half away from the team, Dwyane Wade is required at the 2018 trading deadline for a conditional second-round pick, beginning what turns into a farewell tour.
Money deals, too: In another move to assist against the cap and tax, the Heat offload the contracts of Wayne Ellinton and Tyler Johnson to the Suns at the 2019 trading deadline for the contract of forward Ryan Anderson.
Instant impact: In what arguably stands as the midseason move with the greatest instant impact in the franchise’ 36 seasons, the Heat acquire Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder at the 2020 trading deadline from the Grizzlies in a move that helps vault the Heat to the 2020 NBA Finals.
Sent out in the trade are Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Justise Winslow.
Subtle failures: Unable to re-create the lightning in the bottle of the previous offseason, the Heat acquire Trevor Ariza, Nemanja Bjelica and Victor Oladipo in a series of moves at the 2021 trading deadline. Two months later, the Heat are swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Buyout market: Bypassing the trade market, the Heat instead add Kevin Love and Cody Zeller ahead of the March 2023 buyout deadline, each contributing as the Heat advance to the 2023 NBA Finals.
Based on the finances after the Rozier trade, as well as the roster flexibility, it is possible the Heat attempt to replicate such activity this season, as well.
IN THE LANE
NEXT CHALLENGE: With no Heat players voted in as All-Star starters in the combined fan-media-player balloting, the most likely Heat player to be selected as one of the Eastern Conference’s seven reserves would appear to be Bam Adebayo, considering coaches select the reserves and so respect his defense. Selected as the East frontcourt starters in the balloting were Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum. Adebayo’s competition among East frontcourt reserve options appear to be Paolo Banchero, Julius Randle, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jarrett Allen and Scottie Barnes. As many as five and as few as three East frontcourt reserves will be added, with that announcement coming Thursday for the Feb. 18 game in Indiana. It well could be as few as three East frontcourt reserves selected, with so many remaining East backcourt options beyond voted-in starters Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard, including Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young and Derrick White.
GETTING VOTES: In the free-for-all that is the voting of fellow players for All-Star starting berths, among Heat players who received such votes were Adebayo (59), Jimmy Butler (28), Terry Rozier (18), Tyler Herro (10), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (6), Kevin Love (4), Nikola Jovic (3), Duncan Robinson (2), Orlando Robinson (2), Thomas Bryant (1), Jamal Cain (1), Josh Richardson (1), Caleb Martin (1), RJ Hampton (1) and Dru Smith (1). That left Cole Swider and Haywood Highsmith as the only Heat players not to receive at least one vote from a fellow player.
OUTGOING PRAISE: Just as Erik Spoelstra offered outgoing praise for Kyle Lowry after Lowry was dealt to the Hornets for Terry Rozier, so did Charlotte coach Steve Clifford for Rozier, noting how the guard continually tried to make the best of the challenging situation at the bottom of the standings. “His impact on his teammates with the way that he works, the way that he handles himself, those are things that we will lose,” Clifford told the Charlotte Observer. “He was great in the way that he practiced, because he truly cares. Anytime we did a drill in practice, particularly defensively, he’d be the first guy to jump in. I think things like that are hard to replace and they can’t be faked.”
THE NEW NORMAL: The Heat’s run from No. 8 playoff seed to last season’s NBA Finals seemingly has changed the regular-season calculus, or at least the perspective of drawing conclusions solely from the standings. That, former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, now a TNT analyst, said could work in favor of the revamped New York Knicks. “I’m sincere in saying Miami was not nearly as good last year as the Knicks are now, and they ended up in the NBA Finals,” Van Gundy told the New York Post. “I think right now that I would put the Knicks in a group with Miami and Cleveland in those four through seven spots. But the caveat is Miami was even lower than that a year ago and ended up in the Finals. So I think if you get in those spots and put things together at the right time and get the right matchups and have the right health, you could make a run.”
NUMBER
4. Players who have recorded at least 15 rebounds and six blocked shots in a game for the Heat over the franchise’s 36 seasons, something Bam Adebayo did Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies It was the first such Heat performance since Hassan Whiteside had 20 rebounds and nine blocks against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 7, 2018. Whiteside did it eight times in his Heat career. Alonzo Mourning seven times and Rony Seikaly twice.
