Hot Notes: League refuses to say whether it will consider voiding Rozier s contract ahead of federal court ruling

According to previous reports, Heat player Rozier was arrested by the FBI for participating in illegal sports betting. Today, Heat team reporters Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang wrote an article about some details about the Heat's trade to acquire Rozier.

Two reporters said that the indictment against Rozier showed that before the Hornets played the Pelicans on March 23, 2023, multiple betting companies detected 30 "small-point" bets on Rozier's scoring, rebounding, and assist data within 46 minutes, totaling US$13,759, causing multiple gaming companies to close their data betting markets. The FBI alleged that the total betting amount involved in the case exceeded 200,000 US dollars, and the illegal profits were tens of thousands of dollars.

The NBA received an abnormal betting alert on the same day, but the league did not notify the teams of such notices from bookmakers. Two NBA spokespersons refused to explain why all teams were not informed of the abnormal betting alert or player investigation. If informed at the time, the Heat would likely have given up on trading Rozier. The Heat are also unsure whether the Hornets were aware of the ongoing NBA investigation at the time of the trade.

The NBA refused to say whether commissioner Adam Silver would consider revoking Rozier's contract before the federal court's ruling. According to the collective bargaining agreement, if the league has reasonable grounds to believe that the accusation is true, Silver has the right to immediately suspend Rozier or expel him from the league.

In August 2021, Rozier signed a four-year contract worth $96.3 million with the Hornets. He was traded to Miami in January 2024, and his salary this season is expected to be US$26.6 million, of which approximately US$25 million is guaranteed income.