The Miami Heat are in first place, but their offence ranks as one of the worst in the NBA.

The Heat strengthened their offence Tuesday by trading for Terry Rozier of the Charlotte Hornets.

To complete the deal, Miami is sending veteran Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round draft pick to Charlotte.

The trade was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Rozier should provide an immediate impact for the Heat, who rank 26th in scoring with an average of 110.9 points per game.

The 29-year-old is averaging career highs of 23.2 points per game and 6.6 assists. He is also shooting a career-best 45.9 per cent and hitting an average of 2.8 3-pointers per game.

He is making $23.2million this season and under contract for two more seasons, and leaves a Charlotte team that is 10-31 to join a Miami club that sits atop the Southeast Division with a 24-19 record, but has lost its last three games.

The defending Eastern Conference champion Heat have had some issues with their offence, scoring fewer than 100 points in three of their last four games. On the season, they've scored fewer than 100 points 10 times, and only the Hornets (12) and Trail Blazers (12) have had more game of being held to double digits.

Lowry had come off the bench in Miami's last two games after being in the starting lineup in each of his first 35 appearances of the season for the Heat.

A six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion with the Raptors, Lowry hasn't had much of a presence in Miami's rotation lately, totalling just 10 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds in the last five games he's played.

The 37-year-old Lowry is in his 18th NBA season and is on a $29.7million expiring contract.