Miami Heat trading for Terry Rozier while unloading Kyle Lowry is brilliant from all angles | Opinion

The trade the Miami Heat pulled off on Tuesday — it was about time in a couple of ways.

It was about time club president Pat Riley made a move to help rescue this listing season, one bogged down by subpar offense and likely not going far in the NBA postseason.

And it was about time more literally for departing Kyle Lowry. At age 37, he would run out. Miami did well to foist the fumes of his ebbing career on somebody else and enjoy a huge, immediate upgrade in return.

Riley the maestro is in his own career’s winter at 78, but he doesn’t have to run or shoot anymore. He only needs parlay his guile to convince a willing trade partner they didn’t just agree to accept your dead wood while also saving you money.

He did. And so the Heat has acquired combo-guard Terry Rozier and his career-high 23.2 scoring average from Charlotte in exchange for Lowry and a protected 2027 first-round draft pick. (Look for the Hornets to now try to flip Lowry to the Knicks or somebody else.)

This trade is a steal for Riley on the face of it. The added bonuses are that the Heat gets rid of Lowry’s expiring $29.7 million contract and in Rozier gets a player making $7.5 million less — and that Rozier is half a career younger at 29, still in his prime and, by the numbers, better than ever. And Miami has him for the following two seasons before he’d become a free agent.

Charlotte believed Rozier was expendable from the moment they drafted LaMelo Ball in 2020, but Rozier he kept playing too well and doing too much to part with, until now.

Another bonus is that Rozier is the veteran with the high hoops IQ, the Heat Culture fit that is always paramount with Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra. And he wanted to play in Miami. Said he preferred the Heat from the moment the rumors started swirling as the NBA’s February 8 trade deadline neared.

Heat fans know the hard way that a player’s preference doesn’t always carry much weight.

Damian Lillard lobbied and begged all offseason for Portland to trade him to Miami, but he ended up with East rival Milwaukee instead -- a seismic loss for Riley.

With Rozier, it worked out. (And I’m not sure what’s better for Miami: Adding Rozier. Or finally divesting of Lowry, who is no longer a shot-creator or quick enough to be a top defender? Win-win.)

The Heat at midseason, 24-19 after three straight losses and sixth place in the East, is getting a much-needed jolt.

This season has indicated what the offseason tried to tell us: That the top-tier teams in the conference had noticeably improved while the Heat, thanks to the Lillard failure, stood pat.

So now we see the Boston Celtics with the best record in the NBA

We see the Milwaukee Bucks tied for second-best.

We see Joel Embiid drop 70 points for a surging Philadelphia.

And we see Miami fight back, or at least try, with the Rozier deal.

The Heat rank 26th of 30 teams in scoring offense. Now suddenly that team adds a fourth 20-point scorer to join Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler — who haven’t played much together at the same time because of injuries but finally just did again.

This may not be quite a seismic trade, one to instantly scare the Celtics, Bucks and Sixers.

But it is a big trade, a smart one and one well-timed.

It is a trade that announces the Heat has not given in or given up on this season.