Three months removed from Halloween and it’s scary hours in South Beach as the Miami Heat trade with the Charlotte Hornets to acquire Terry Rozier.

With the trade deadline every year, contenders aim to make subtle moves or big splashes to give them the extra push before the NBA playoffs. After reaching the NBA Finals last year as an improbable play-in team, the Heat decided this week to go ahead and make a move two weeks before the rest of the association.

In acquiring Terry Rozier’s services, Miami sent veteran point guard Kyle Lowry and a protected first-round pick in 2027 to Charlotte.

For starters, what Miami had to give up was next to nothing. A protected first-round pick in 2027 is nothing Heat fans will look back on three years down the road as detrimental to the team’s growth. Especially considering the Heat don’t intend to be picking in the lottery. Yet if need be, more trades can be done in the next three years if there is a prospect they really admire and fits the team.

The real loss is Kyle Lowry and his locker room presence. Like many NBA stars are guilty of in the rumor mills, Lowry had Miami as a desired destination back when he was with the Toronto Raptors and won Toronto’s only NBA Championship in 2019.

Lowry was traded back to the Heat in August 2021 shipping away an aging Goran Dragic and first-round pick Precious Achiuwa. Since then, Lowry became the NBA’s historical leader in charges drawn in a Heat jersey. He went to two Eastern Conference Finals and one NBA Finals with the team and played a significant role in both.

But as a 6-time All-Star and NBA Champion, Kyle Lowry turns 38 in March. His career is drawing to a close, and while he remained a veteran leader until his last day in the 305, his on-court play is on the decline. Lowry’s expected to be bought out or traded by the Hornets and hopefully has the opportunity to sign with a contender to end his NBA career.

Now we turn the page. We go from Kyle Lowry who turns 38 in March to Terry Rozier who coincidentally turns 30 in March. That’s a trade to secure eight years at the point guard position.

This is not a new phenomenon for Pat Riley and the front office. They’ve done this before, three consecutive times.

Back in 2015, the Heat acquired Goran Dragic (age 28, 16.2 PPG) from the Suns to lead their offense. As mentioned earlier, Dragic was included in the deal to acquire Kyle Lowry (age 35, 17.2 PPG) back in 2021 in a sign-and-trade deal. Now they use Lowry to acquire the rights for Terry Rozier and they couldn’t do it at a better time.

This season for the Hornets, Rozier is averaging career-highs in PPG (23.2), FG% (45.9), APG (6.6), and BPG (0.4). You can make the case Rozier is playing his best ball in nine years in the NBA and did so with a lesser Hornets roster and in LaMelo Ball’s shadow, when LaMelo has been healthy.

Now Terry gets the keys to the Miami Heat offense with all-stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the franchise’s best 3-point shooter Duncan Robinson, an ascending and vengeful Tyler Herro, the promising rookie Jamie Jaquez Jr., and one of the league’s best coaches in Erik Spoelstra. Rozier is spoiled with this Heat roster and will most likely start in his first playoff series since 2018, dating back to his Celtics days.

The only question remains if Terry Rozier will fit with the Miami Heat. Only playing time will tell. You can only answer that question on the court. But if Erik Spoelstra can get undrafted players to significantly contribute to a winning culture, he can take Terry Rozier and help Scary Terry be a big part of the Heat’s success moving forward this season and later years.

It’s always sad to see a player you cheered for walk away, but it was time for the team to move on from Kyle Lowry. It’s time to usher in the new Terry Rozier era and welcome him with open arms. And the Heat didn’t have to mortgage the future or blow up the returning Eastern Conference Championship team to get Rozier, like the Portland Trail Blazers were trying to do in the Damian Lillard trade rumors this offseason.

Welcome to the 305, Terry!