MIAMI — The ads, texts and emails have become ubiquitous, how voting for a specific candidate could swing the U.S. Senate, Congress or even state houses.

At the moment, it seemingly is all about swing votes.

A case could be made that the same could be at hand for the Miami Heat, with training camp just over a week away.

The known quantities are Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro.

But a case could be made that the Heat’s swing vote is Terry Rozier, who arrived at midseason last January, was hurt, played well, put on a tour de force as closer in a road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, and then was hurt again.

For the Heat the stakes are high, and for more than the potentially unprotected pick sent out to the Charlotte Hornets along with Kyle Lowry for Rozier.

As Heat General Manager Andy Elisburg stressed during summer league, the Heat preempted a potential move this offseason in favor of the salary space ceded in January to Rozier.

Based on what was spent, where the money otherwise did not go, and how it played out in Rozier’s absence in the postseason, the notion of Rozier as swing vote can’t help but stand among the most significant of storylines during camp, the regular season and beyond.

The Heat need to make it work, because of the roster limitations otherwise created.

Coach Erik Spoelstra needs to make it work, because an injection of offense is sorely needed.

Rozier needs to make it work, if only because for years he said this has stood as a target destination.

Of the latter emphasis, Rozier enters his first Heat camp aware of the stakes, expectations and needs — even as he stressed having ignored that chatter during a trying offseason that had him rehabilitating from his season-ending neck injury.

“For sure, for sure,” he said. “I know the fans are eager to see what it’s going to be like this year. It sucks the way it ended last year for me, not being able to play in the playoffs. That’s one of the main reasons I came here, to help this organization.

“So it’s a fresh start. You get to be around the guys for a full season, be around the coaches for a full season, learn the plays and really just get that camaraderie with the other guys. So it’s going to be super helpful. So I think we just let last year go and just focus on this year and move on.”

Letting go will be easier, Rozier said, because of letting go of the chatter.

“It’s just wait and see,” he said of managing expectations. “That’s why I stayed off all the podcasts and I don’t do all the talking. My game has been on the court. It’s always been like that.”

Amid the Heat’s whirlwind of injuries last season, continuity stood as an abstract for Rozier during his aborted initial Heat tenure.

So far, there have been 30 games alongside Bam Adebayo for Rozier, 27 alongside Jimmy Butler and just 11 alongside Tyler Herro, his potential backcourt starting partner.

Taken further, in only 10 games has Rozier been on the court alongside the trio of Adebayo, Butler and Herro, for a total of 118 minutes. Per 100 possessions, the Heat outscored opponents by one point with that quartet, hardly an ultimate takeoff point when it comes to net rating.

So not only work ahead, but a considerable learning curve.

Thus, an undeniable swing vote in the Heat’s race for something better than last season’s first-round ouster at the hands of the eventual champion Boston Celtics.

At 30, five years removed from his last playoff appearance, when he appeared in nine games in the 2019 postseason with the Celtics, and after nothing but losing with the Hornets, Rozier stressed he is ready for the campaign ahead.

Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers added Paul George, the New York Knicks added Mikal Bridges, the Orlando Magic added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

For each of those three, training camp means a fresh start, as it does, to a degree, for those teams.

With Rozier, it’s different. There were no moving vans this summer, the relocation already complete.

But there also was time to reflect on the relocation, a move made months ago, but only now with a sense of feeling grounded.

“I’m happy I can still do what I love,” Rozier said of pushing through the season-ending injury that had him in a neck brace at one stage, “and I’m going to take full advantage of it until I can’t go anymore. So it’s just opened my eyes to everything off the court. This is what I do. This is what I breathe.”

In the lane

A big fan: There was a time when the Florida Panthers would talk about the Heat in terms of championship objectives. Now, with the Panthers as Stanley Cup champions, there is a degree of reverse envy. “I was locked in on the Panthers’ run,” Heat guard Duncan Robinson said this past week, with the Cup visiting the Heat training court a week ago. “I almost came back for a Stanley Cup game. I went to a couple of playoff games when I was still here.” Robinson added that has led to a change of allegiance. “So in terms of in-market teams inspiring counterparts, I think it’s very real. I’ll admit since I’ve been down in Florida, I’m definitely no longer a Bruins fan. I’m full on the Panthers’ bandwagon. I’m a Dolphins fan now. So this is home for me. On top of that, when you see people do hard things and do great things like make a run in the playoffs, it definitely inspires you to want that same sort of magic with your group.” And, yes, a hockey fan. “I love hockey,” Robinson said. “I mean, I grew up in a hockey area (in New Hampshire). A lot of my friends growing up were hockey players. I used to play pond hockey back in the day, so I can skate a little bit. I have a huge appreciation for the sport. I understand how tough, physical, skilled it is, and also how much of a team game it is.”

Ironic iconic moment: That the Brooklyn Nets this past week decided to retire the No. 15 jersey of Vince Carter during the Heat’s Jan. 25 visit to Barclays Center stands as particularly ironic in light of how the Nets acquired Carter. On Dec. 17, 2004, the Nets, then based in New Jersey, acquired Carter from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Alonzo Mourning, Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and two first-round picks (which eventually turned into Joey Graham and Renaldo Balkman). Except ... Mourning never reported to the Raptors. While conjecture remains about whether Mourning balked at moving north of the border or the Raptors deemed him not fully able to play due to his previous kidney transplant, the result was a $9 million Raptors buyout for the Heat icon. Mourning then, without having suited up for the Raptors, rejoined the Heat in February 2005, eventually to share in the Heat’s 2006 NBA championship alongside Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal. Carter will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next month; Mourning was enshrined in 2014. Carter’s No. 15 joins the previously retired Nets numbers of Dražen Petrović (No. 3), Jason Kidd (No. 5), John Williamson (No. 23), Bill Melchionni (No. 25), Julius Erving (No. 32) and Buck Williams (No. 52).

And another one?: With Portland this past week awarded a WNBA expansion team, a natural comparison is to Miami. As with Miami and the short-lived Sol franchise, Portland had a WNBA franchise, the Portland Fire, that also lasted only three seasons, starting in 2000. The Sol, at the time coached by former Heat coach and current Heat television analyst Ron Rothstein, also folded in 2002, leaving the two franchises with the shortest WNBA tenures. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in May listed Philadelphia, Denver, Nashville and South Florida as locations the league was in discussions with for potential expansion teams. The Houston Chronicle this past week also listed Houston and Austin as potential future WNBA expansion cities.

International sightings: With NBA camps having filled up, international teams also have been busy finalizing their rosters. Among those with South Florida ties having signed overseas recently have been former University of Miami forward and Miami Norland product Dewan Hernandez, with the 2019 second-round pick of the Raptors signing with AEK Athens in Greece; former Heat 10-day contract holder Marcus Georges-Hunt signing with the Sichuan Blue Whales in China; former Heat 2014 camp prospect Khem Birch signing with Fenerbahce Beko in Turkey; and Heat 2023-24 G League player Peter Jok signing with KK Cibona in Croatia.

Number

4th. Where the three-year, $165 million agreement signed in July by Heat center Bam Adebayo stands in terms of average annual value, per Spotrac, among NBA extensions signed this offseason. The top of that list in terms of average annual value is Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum at $104.6 million per season, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid at $64.3 million, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry at $62.6 million, and then Adebayo at $55.1 million. In terms of total dollars, Adebayo’s extension stands ninth overall.

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