CHARLOTTE — A few games removed from trading Terry Rozier to Miami, the Hornets are still getting accustomed to life without the player who had scored more points than any other Charlotte player since his arrival in 2019.
On Jan. 23, the Hornets sent the ninth-year shooting guard to the Heat in exchange for 18-year veteran Kyle Lowry and a protected 2027 first-round pick.
Charlotte is expected to either trade Lowry to a playoff contender who can absorb his $29.6 million salary or buy out the final year of his contract. The Sixers, Knicks and Lakers have each been linked as potential suitors for the 37-year-old.
Either way, Charlotte will move forward without the player who scored nearly 6,000 points over four-plus seasons and became a fan favorite.
“It’s bittersweet,” Rozier, 29, said in his official exit interview with Charlotte. “I’ve been here for four and a half years. I know it wasn’t easy for guys to move on from Kemba (Walker) and accept a young man like me, but I gave my heart out and hopefully the city respected that. I definitely had a fun time with the city, the fans and my teammates.”
Often taking a back seat to All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball — who arrived in Charlotte a year later in 2020 — Rozier ranks in the franchise’s top 10 in several statistical categories. He ranks fifth in points, third in 3-pointers, sixth in field goals, as well as 10th in both assists and steals.
With Rozier averaging career bests this season in points (23.3), field goal percentage (45.9%) and rebounds (6.6) during 30 games with Charlotte, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak struck while the iron was hot, dealing him more than two weeks ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline on Feb. 8.
“I’m happy for him,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said after a 113-106 loss to Detroit on Jan. 24. “I told the guys it’s part of this league. Change is a big part of the NBA, and we’ve got to move on quickly.”
In a season that is on track to be one of the worst in team history, the Hornets managed to pull out a 128-125 road win over Minnesota in Rozier’s final game with Charlotte on Jan. 22.
Since the trade, the Hornets have lost four straight — to Detroit, Houston, Utah and New York — by a combined 84 points.
The absence of a reliable shooting guard has forced the team into a revamped starting lineup with Ball at point guard with forwards Brandon Miller, Cody Martin and Miles Bridges, and center Nick Richards. Forward PJ Washington and guards Nick Smith Jr. and Ish Smith have been the main contributors off the bench.
“It’s going to be hard,” Clifford said of his team’s post-Rozier transition period. “He’s been playing incredibly well. Plus, just his impact on his teammates with the way that he works, the way that he handles himself, those are things that we will lose and there will be more opportunities. More opportunities for Brandon (Miller) and we’re going to need guys to evolve here as we move on.”
There’s a chance that trading away Rozier won’t be the only move the Hornets make ahead of the trade deadline. With the likelihood that Charlotte’s roster gets heavily reshaped in the offseason, Kupchak might be considering offers on anyone not named Ball, Miller or Mark Williams.
Bridges has been repeatedly cited as a potential trade piece for teams wanting a small forward who can score, although he has insisted that he would be perfectly fine to stay in Charlotte.
“It doesn’t really bother me,” Bridges said on Jan. 26. “I don’t pay attention to what people are saying. I’ve been criticized for the last year and a half now, so trade talk is the least of my worries. So, I just go out there and try to play my best every game, bring it all out there on the floor and that’s all I worry about.”
