NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged the Miami Heats unprecedented bind with Terry Rozier and publicly signaled that the league is willing to collaborate on a possible resolution, even as the investigation surrounding Rozier remains active.
Silver addressed the matter in Las Vegas ahead of the NBA Cup, noting both the complications and the sympathy he has for the franchise.
This is an unprecedented situation, Silver said Tuesday. I think Im incredibly sympathetic to the Heat and to their fans. But I think were going to try to work something through, work this out with them. But theres no obvious solution here. I would just say that theres no doubt at the moment they have a player that cant perform services for them. And as to the draft pick they conveyed obviously he hasnt been convicted of anything yet, either, but this is an unfortunate circumstance. But sometimes theres unique events and maybe sometimes they require unique solutions.
Rozier remains on unpaid leave after federal prosecutors accused him of tipping a friend about an early exit so wagers could be placed against his statistics.
The alleged events occurred in March 2023 during his Charlotte tenure, but the resulting fallout has landed squarely on Miami, a team that parted with a valuable future draft pick and now carries a $26.6 million cap hit for a player who cannot take the court.
Silver made clear that the Heat must receive league approval to move Rozier and admitted that identifying a trade partner is difficult under current conditions.
Well be looking at this with the Heat and the other teams in the league and see if theres any satisfactory relief, but at the moment there is none, he said.
The commissioner also confirmed investigators are monitoring developments related to federal indictments involving Rozier, Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones, while noting the NBAs limitations during its original inquiry.
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