Miami Heat rumors: Terry Rozier health update and potential trade partners

Catching up on some Miami Heat news and notes…

Terry Rozier is cleared for 5 on 5: We knew Rozier was trending in this direction and, according to the Miami Herald, he’s recently been cleared to play 5 on 5 basketball and is expected to participate in training camp next week after spending the summer recovering from a neck injury that ended his 2023-24 season.

This is great news for the Heat, who are banking on improved health across the roster to make another deep playoff run this season. Having Rozier ready for his first full Heat training camp will go a long way in developing chemistry.

Keeping an eye on the Clippers: In his piece outlining some of the major questions facing the Heat going into next season, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson mentioned a few teams worth keeping an eye on as potential trade partners. Jackson named the Clippers and Warriors, among others, which got me thinking…

As I’ve written before, the Warriors make sense. There’s an appropriate level of desperation to maximize Steph Curry’s championship window.

But the Clippers?

This is a bit more far-fetched. Yes, they lost Paul George in the offseason, but part of that’s because they didn’t want to pay him. Butler is looking for his next long-term contract, so I doubt the Clippers would want to offer Butler a maximum contract extension. Maybe if their season goes sideways early, but they knew the risk when they let George walk away for nothing. 

Why not Brandon Ingram? In the same piece, Jackson mentions the Pelicans, “if impending free agent Brandon Ingram faces reality and accepts a deal well below the maximum. (Not counting on that.)” 

I’m not counting on it either, but are we to infer that the Heat would be in on Brandon Ingram if not for his contract demands? That could be interesting. Adding Ingram, a 23-point-per-game scorer who, at 6-foot-8, could play either forward position, would transform the shape of the Heat’s roster. For what it’s worth, the Heat were interested in acquiring DeMar DeRozan and Lauri Markannen this summer but couldn’t because of various contract issues. But it’s clear there’s an appetite for scoring juice with size.