NEW YORK — Free agent NBA guard Terry Rozier is eager to get back on the basketball court while he contests federal sports gambling charges that kept him out of the league last season. However, bail conditions restricting his contact with certain individuals and limiting where he can travel may stand in the way of any comeback.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall rejected a defense motion to loosen those bail restrictions, which would have allowed Rozier to practice and play alongside potential witnesses in his case, provided no one discussed the charges. The judge said monitoring what Rozier says during games would be practically impossible.
DeArcy Hall also rebuked Rozier for already crossing a line — sending a text message to someone he had been explicitly told not to contact. According to the judge, Rozier reached out to that person simply to inform them they were on his no-contact list.
“What that tells me is that he believes he knows better than the court,” DeArcy Hall said during a hearing at Brooklyn federal court. She added that Rozier “violated the court’s trust with that text message.”
Over his 10 NBA seasons, Rozier averaged 3.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He spent four and a half of those seasons with the Charlotte Hornets before being dealt to Miami in 2024. The Heat released him in April, leaving him a free agent. An arbitrator ruled in February that the Heat were still obligated to pay Rozier his $26.6 million salary for last season.
Rozier, 32, is set to face trial in February on bribery and conspiracy charges. Federal prosecutors allege he accepted a $70,000 payment to help gamblers profit by leaking that he intended to exit a March 2023 game early due to a nagging lower leg injury. Neither the public nor sportsbooks had been informed of that plan, and Rozier had not appeared on the team’s injury report, prosecutors said.
According to federal prosecutors, Rozier’s friend Deniro “Niro” Laster — who also faces charges — passed or sold that tip to others, who then placed more than $250,000 in wagers betting that Rozier’s point, assist, and other statistical totals would fall below the sportsbooks’ set lines.
Rozier has entered a not guilty plea. His legal team has asked DeArcy Hall to throw out the case entirely and has also sought to move the trial from New York to Miami. Rozier recently overhauled his defense, bringing on attorney David Markus — whose past clients have included Ghislaine Maxwell — as lead counsel, replacing former President Donald Trump’s one-time lawyer Jim Trusty.
“I wish we were starting trial in this case because Terry is innocent and we want to show the world that he had no involvement in this,” Markus told reporters following Wednesday’s hearing.
Rozier was taken into custody last October as part of a broad federal gambling probe that has resulted in more than three dozen arrests. Last week, former NBA player Malik Beasley pleaded not guilty to allegations that he deliberately altered his performance in certain 2024 games to benefit sports bettors and reduce his own debts.
Following his arrest, Rozier was initially prohibited from any contact with both the Heat and the Hornets. Prosecutors later removed the Heat from that restriction and, after objections from Rozier’s attorneys, agreed last month to narrow the contact ban to a specific list of people who were part of the Hornets organization when Rozier played there in 2023.
Markus argued that without further changes, NBA franchises could interpret the current bail terms as effectively banning Rozier from the league altogether.
“It is not a directive that he cannot play in the NBA,” DeArcy Hall responded, but added, “unfortunately there is a consequence of being under indictment. That’s the reality.”
Rozier is currently barred from contacting at least a dozen potential witnesses, including seven former Hornets teammates who now play for four different teams.
Markus floated a proposal to have an attorney present courtside to oversee any on-court interactions, but the judge quickly dismissed the idea, saying a lawyer watching from the bench would have no way of hearing what players say to each other.
“Unless you’re suiting up, it doesn’t help me,” DeArcy Hall said.
Markus also requested that the ban on Rozier leaving the United States be lifted so he could travel to Canada to play against the Toronto Raptors if he were to sign with an NBA team.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Farrell called that request premature and raised concerns that Rozier might attempt to flee prosecution if allowed to cross international borders. Markus pushed back, calling the suggestion “out of bounds” and insisting Rozier would never walk away from his career or his family.
After further debate, DeArcy Hall said she would hold off on ruling about international travel until Rozier actually signs an NBA contract. The judge also mentioned that another defendant had recently asked her permission to play basketball in Greece — a request she denied.
