reality started to emerge Miami Heat on Friday when they gathered for morning shootaround practice and terry rosier Was not with the team.
And that almost certainly won’t change anytime soon.
After this, the NBA has sent Rozier on indefinite leave. was arrested He was charged by federal agents on Thursday for his alleged role in a scheme in which prosecutors say he conspired with friends to help him win bets placed on his performance in the March 2023 game while he was with her. charlotte hornets,
“You support him in every possible way,” Heat captain bomb adebayo Said in Memphis, Tennessee before Miami’s game against Grizzlies“At the end of the day he’s our brother. It actually feels weird not having him here, because he’s the first person I talk to in the morning. He brings great energy to our team.”
Adebayo made it clear how the team still feels about Rozier.
“We stand behind him,” Adebayo said. “Full support.”
The Heat are now looking for ways to move forward, just like the portland trail blazers Will have to do without coach Chauncey Billups — he also was arrested Thursday and placed on leave for his alleged involvement in another gambling scheme.
“Terry is someone we all love very much,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s had a really positive impact on our locker room, staff and players, and that includes last year, when he wasn’t in the rotation at times. We send him our thoughts and our care as he goes through this.”
Rozier, through his lawyer, has denied any wrongdoing. The Heat are not commenting on the legal portion of the case, nor are the Hornets, the team Rozier was with during the March 23, 2023 game.
Rozier was in the starting lineup for Charlotte and played quite well with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in his 9½ minutes of action. This is one of only two times in his career that he had that many points, rebounds and assists in the first quarter.
He cited foot pain as the reason for not returning to that game and sat out the final eight Charlotte games that season. The Hornets had already been eliminated from playoff contention, and it is not unusual for players – even those with minor injuries – to be held out of unimportant games late in the season.
But Rozier reportedly told his childhood friend, Deniro Laster, who has also been charged, that he would remove himself from the game. Laster allegedly sold the information to two speculators for approximately $100,000. According to the indictment, those bettors, along with their associates and a network of proxy bettors, used the information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets on Rozier’s under.
According to the indictment, Rozier paid for Laster to travel to Philadelphia to collect proceeds from the scheme, which also said Laster went to Rozier’s home to count the money.
Hours after Rozier was arrested by federal authorities in Orlando, Florida, the Heat met as a team on Thursday and spent part of that session discussing how to best support their teammate.
“He is our brother,” forward jaime jaquez jr Said. “We’ve spent a lot of time with him. You know, let’s see what happens. There’s a lot of things we don’t know. Just waiting for more information to come out.”
Rozier was not in the rotation for Miami’s season-opening game. orlando On Wednesday. He was in uniform and on the bench, eligible to play if the Heat decided they needed him. There was no indication that night that any legal problems were looming.
By the time the team departed Orlando on Thursday, it was clear Rozier would not be with the club again for some time. The challenge now for the Heat is to figure out how to proceed, Spoelstra said.
“You have no other choice,” Spoelstra said. “The league doesn’t wait. It doesn’t stop for you. … You have to learn how to compartmentalize and focus on the most immediate thing. And that’s preparing for an important game tonight.”
ESPN’s David Purdum and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
