The grass isn't always greener, and Miami Heat fans are learning that the hard way.
This trade has aged so well for Charlotte so far pic.twitter.com/Gu2RtnIhtc
— Matt (@sixringsofsteeI) January 21, 2025
Kyle Lowry joined the Heat in the 2021-22 season and instantly made an impact. Lowry quarterbacked the Heat to the No. 1 seed in the East and a top-11 offense per Cleaning the Glass. Miami hasn't hit that mark relative to the rest of the league since.
The Heat didn't accomplish their goal, falling to the Boston Celtics in a thrilling seven-game series. Lowry famously stated that the season was a wasted year because he was playing for championships at that point in his career.
That winning mentality and pedigree intrigued Heat fans when Lowry jumped on board. His first year had flaws—21 single-digit scoring games and two zero-point games (32 and 37 minutes played, respectively). He's a floor general, but those low-scoring games compounded in 2023.
Lowry played 55 games in '23 compared to 63 in '22. Despite playing fewer games, Lowry still had more single-digit scoring games in 2023 (23). Those low-output scoring games and rocky 3-point percentage made Heat fans pull their hairs out. Not to mention, Lowry was racking up $28 million that season.
That price tag and low-scoring production caused Lowry to be susceptible to all the criticism you could think of online. There were constant demands from fans to trade Lowry. He finished the year with the Heat and was pivotal in the Heat's historic '23 Finals run. His intangibles were on full display in that run. His bulldog on-ball defense, leadership, and timely shooting (38% from 3) were something his biggest detractors couldn't deny.
Lowry started the '24 season with the Heat, and the lack of scoring continued, so Miami went out and made a business decision. They traded for Terry Rozier, who was averaging 23 points with a 57 TS% in Charlotte. Addressing Miami's lack of scoring firepower in the backcourt was a good move. With Rozier coming from the Hornets, it was clear his role would be diminished some as he wouldn't have the same freedom in Miami to take 18 shots a game. Not only has Rozier not come close to his 2024 Hornets scoring average, but he's also folded all across the board.
The Miami Heat Rozier experience is going worse than the fans who clamored for Lowry to be dealt could've imagined. Rozier got off to a solid start, averaging 16 points and shooting 37% from deep on solid volume. Unfortunately, a neck injury caused Rozier to miss the final four regular-season games and the playoffs, derailing all the positive momentum Rozier had in Miami.
Grading the Lowry for Rozier trade: D
If Rozer isn't scoring, what does he bring to the table? He's averaging 12 points -- his lowest since 2019 when he was a backup in Boston -- while posting a 51 TS%. His efficiency is down across the board, and he's only making 29% of his five 3s a game. Scoring and tough shot-making were the traits that made Rozier valuable.
Unlike Rozier, Lowry could defend and run the offense when his shot wasn't falling. Rozier isn't the stern on-ball defender Lowry was. Even though Rozier has slippery slick handles, he doesn't use them to run an offense successfully. We thought we'd trade the little things a true point guard does for a scoring threat, but it turns out we lost everything in trading for Rozier.
In hindsight, what Lowry brought to the table was still valuable to a degree. With Tyler Herro's explosion, the Heat are now looking for a point guard who can take tough matchups and put players in position to thrive. The Heat did need more of a scoring punch, so dealing for Rozier was the right move at the time, considering what the team needed and Lowry's age. We thought we'd get Rozier in his prime, but that hasn't happened since he got hurt last year. Now Miami is back on the hunt for a valuable point guard who fits next to Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Kel'el Ware.