The Miami Heat have elected to keep guard Terry Rozier on the roster, allowing his entire $26,643,031 salary for the 2025/26 season to become guaranteed. The decision was made Wednesday, the league’s annual salary-guarantee deadline.
Rozier’s deal had previously carried a partial guarantee of $24,924,126. By waiving him before the cutoff, Miami could have saved a little more than $1.7 million, freed a second spot on the 15-man roster, and added two standard-contract players without crossing the luxury-tax threshold.
Despite Rozier being inactive since his October arrest on federal gambling charges and subsequent league-imposed leave, the Heat opted to retain him. League sources indicated the club values his expiring contract for potential salary-matching in trades. Although the NBA has not formally ruled on whether Miami can include Rozier in a deal, team officials reportedly believe the league would not block such a move.
While his cap hit is now locked in, Rozier’s paychecks remain frozen in an interest-bearing escrow account until the league resolves the matter. The National Basketball Players Association is challenging that decision, and an arbitration ruling is expected later this month.
Rozier was one of many players with non-guaranteed contracts who survived the deadline. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, no player on a standard non-guaranteed deal was waived Wednesday. Only three two-way players were released: Mark Sears (Bucks), Malik Williams (Hawks), and Tosan Evbuomwan (Knicks).
Source: Hoops Rumors
