Heat Notes: Rozier, Cap, Offense, Fontecchio

In the wake of Terry Rozier‘s arrest, the Heat had a team meeting on Thursday to “address things,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said on Friday, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). While Spoelstra noted that the team has learned how to “compartmentalize” off-court issues and focus on the next game, Rozier was popular in the locker room and teammates couldn’t help but notice his absence at Friday’s shootaround.

“You support him, through and through. That’s our brother at the end of the day,” big man Bam Adebayo said. “It felt kind of weird in him not being here, actually, because he’s usually the first person I get to talk to in the morning, and he brings that great energy to our team.”

Rozier is facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after being accused of removing himself from a March 2023 game (when he was a member of the Hornets) so that several “under” prop bets would hit. While Spoelstra and Rozier’s teammates didn’t address the specifics of the case on Friday, they uniformly expressed support for the veteran guard, who has been placed on leave by the NBA.

“I mean obviously we can’t comment on the situation,” Spoelstra said. “But Terry is somebody who is very dear to all of us. He’s had a real positive impact on our locker room, and the staff and players alike, and that includes last year, when he wasn’t in the rotation oftentimes. We send our thoughts and our care for him as he goes through this.”

Here’s more on the Heat, including additional notes on the Rozier situation:

• Because Rozier has been placed on leave rather than being suspended or having his contract voided, he’ll continue to occupy a Heat roster spot and will continue to be paid his $26.6MM salary for the time being, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald outlines. The Heat would only gain immediate cap relief if the NBA decided to void Rozier’s contract, which would remove it from the team’s books.
• Jackson posits (via Twitter) that the Heat were “wronged” by the NBA, which looked into unusual betting activity related to that March 2023 game at the time and found no wrongdoing by Rozier. The Heat reportedly weren’t informed of that investigation before trading for the veteran guard in January 2024. While Jackson stresses that he doesn’t expect the team to take any extreme measures like suing the NBA, he suggests it remains to be seen whether the Heat will seek some sort of restitution.
• The Heat couldn’t pull out a victory over the Magic in Wednesday’s season opener, but Spoelstra was encouraged by how an offense that looked faster and more efficient than last season’s unit, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I don’t want to take too much of a moral victory on this,” Spoelstra said. “I just see a blueprint for us, and I think there are some things that are going to get better and better as we spend more time with each other.”
• In a wide-ranging conversation with Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype, new Heat forward Simone Fontecchio spoke about his transition from the EuroLeague to the NBA, what he thinks his role will be in Miami, and several other topics. According to Fontecchio, continuing to improve defensively is a priority for him this season. “I don’t like to be looked at as a casual European guy that doesn’t play defense, just to shoot, you know?” he said. “I never liked that. And I think I was never like that. So hopefully, I’ll keep working on that, keep getting better and better, and people will start to realize that too.”