- Terry Rozier was traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the Miami Heat in January 2024.
- The Heat guard is now under investigation for “unusual betting activity related” to March 2023, although he has not been charged or accused of anything.
- The NBA would like to avoid another instance of the Jontay Porter situation, and the Rozier case was uncovered while Porter was being investigated.
The Miami Heat are dealing with some major headaches right now. First, Jimmy Butler wants to be traded, and has now been suspended three times by the team in January.
But now, guard Terry Rozier is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office for what they claim are “unusual betting patterns” surrounding his time with the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier Under Investigation for a March 23, 2023 Game Between Charlotte and New Orleans
The Rozier investigation was reported by several media outlets on January 30.
The game for which Rozier is investigated for was on March 23, 2023, when Rozier was a member of the Charlotte Hornets. It was against the New Orleans Pelicans, when Rozier played nine minutes and 36 seconds before being taken out for the rest of the game, claiming he had a foot injury. Rozier had five points, four rebounds, and two assists.
A tweet from the X account of Greg Ehrenberg, a bettor, is cited as he says he used inside info to win on Rozier at NBA betting sites:
The NBA released a statement:
“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans. The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”
While this won’t directly affect the Heat, it’s just another annoyance that they have to listen to, outside of hearing about Jimmy Butler next team odds.
Rozier Probe Stems from Jontay Porter Investigation and Prosecution
Even more worrying is that this investigation emerged from the same case that landed Jontay Porter a lifetime ban from the NBA, and eventually, in jail. The former Toronto Raptor, and younger brother of Denver’s Michael Porter Jr., was found guilty of giving out information about his injury status. Bettors would then use that information to make money on his props. Porter pled guilty and faced up to 20 years in prison, but will probably only do 3–5 years, at most.
This is another bad look on the NBA in regard to gambling. The Porter case earned a lot of attention and to be frank, he wasn’t a good NBA player. Rozier isn’t a star, but he is a 10-year veteran of the league, and has averaged 14.3 points throughout his career. If he is found of any wrongdoing, plenty of players will be examined for any strange betting patterns surrounding him.
