Charlotte Hornets: Terry Rozier is playing up to his contract

Terry Rozier and the Charlotte Hornets were a match made in haste. With Kemba Walker set to depart for the Boston Celtics, Charlotte worked out a sign-and-trade that netted Rozier and a second-round pick (used on Grant Riller). Rozier signed a three-year, $58 million contract and replaced the best player in Hornets franchise history. No pressure.

The contract was criticized for multiple reasons. It wasn’t just that Rozier only had 30 starts in four seasons or that his career averages were 7.7 points and 2.3 assists per game. Still, the $58 million he received was almost identical to Kemba’s total dollar amount during his entire Hornets career. If you were an NBA fan with a Twitter account, you probably made a joke about Rozier’s contract.

Rozier’s debut season in Charlotte was an under-the-radar success. He started and played in 63 games and posted career-high averages of 34.3 minutes, 18.0 points, and 4.1 assists on a slash line of .423/.407/.874. Rozier set career-highs in every shooting percentage despite taking significantly more shots than he ever had before. He showed himself to be a reliable perimeter defender and a lethal catch and shoot threat.

The Charlotte Hornets signing of Terry Rozier was mocked for both the contract’s length and the dollar amount. Two years later, he’s playing up to his deal.

But last season was just the beginning for Rozier. The additions of LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets have allowed him to move into an off-ball role that he’s much more comfortable with. Rozier played 100 percent of his minutes at point guard last season, per Basketball-Reference. This season, he’s down to six percent at the point, 83 percent at two-guard, and 12 percent at small forward.

Rozier is currently on pace for a second straight career year. He kicked things off on opening night with a career-high 42 points behind ten 3-pointers. The 42 points broke Kemba Walker’s franchise record for the highest-scoring game on opening night in franchise history. The 10 3-pointers were the most by a player in any team’s first game of the season in NBA history.

The Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell talks about Rozier leading the Hornets to a February win over the Timberwolves “amid a day of COVID-19 chaos.” Rozier hung 41 on Minnesota, including four made free throws in the final 26 seconds. Bonnell calls Rozier the most mentally tough player on the team:

"In his 1 1/2 seasons as a Hornet, Rozier has constantly exhibited toughness: Quiet pride, acceptance of different roles, and setting an example for others. In an extended off-season — when many of us packed on dead weight — he trimmed down 15 pounds to 185."

As of this writing, Rozier is averaging 33.3 minutes, 20.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.4 3-pointers made per game on a slash line of .490/.445/.795. You don’t typically see a player’s 3-point percentage go up when his 3-point attempts do, so when a guy makes 44.5 percent of 7.7 attempts, you tend to notice.

The 26-year-old is ranked in the top 15 in 3-point makes and the top 20 in effective field goal percentage, per Basketball-Reference. But it’s Rozier’s catch-and-shoot 3-point shooting that has put him over the top. According to NBA Stats, he is 9th in the league in C&S 3-point percentage (min. 50 attempts) and 5th in C&S 3-point makes. To add some context, the only other player to rank in the top ten in both stats is Joe Harris.

It’s not just the 3-point shooting for Rozier. A huge step up he made from last year offensively is his success inside the arc. Rozier is currently shooting a career-high 53.6 percent on two-point field goals. A big part of that is a staggering 51 percent conversion rate on his mid-range attempts. That puts him in the 95th percentile for wings, per Cleaning the Glass. Rozier has never averaged higher than 44 percent on twos in a season or converted greater than 37 percent of his mid-range attempts.

Rozier has stepped up his defensive intensity this season as well. He is among the league leaders in charges drawn with eight, per NBA Stats. He drew six charges in his first four NBA seasons combined.

Rozier is a big reason for the Charlotte Hornets being ranked in the top five in opponent turnover percentage. He reads the passing lanes well and consistently guards the other team’s best perimeter player.

When the Hornets signed Rozier, they were likely hoping to get some version of Scary Terry from Boston’s 2018 playoff run. Rozier’s been even better. He has made NBA Twitter GMs everywhere — myself included — look like idiots. I really wish I could have this one back.

But Rozier’s future in Charlotte is still unclear. He is caught in a logjam of a backcourt right now. LaMelo Ball is the future point guard, but Charlotte has decisions to make on upcoming RFA Devonte’ Graham and Malik Monk. There’s no way all four of those guys will be on the roster next season.

If the Charlotte Hornets are looking at a trade, Rozier will fetch the most in return. But it’s worth noting that SNY’s Ian Begley says Charlotte values Rozier highly, and there’s no indication that the club wants to move him.

Rozier’s contract actually makes him a player teams want now. His $18.9 million salary makes him the 28th highest-paid guard in the NBA this season, per Spotrac. His salary decreases next season — the final year of his deal — to $17.9 million. No matter what happens with Terry Rozier, he’s played up to his contract and more.