Terry Rozier will be getting paid like a star player next season. And according to his agent Aaron Turner, he still might be a bargain for the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier has a three-year deal with the Hornets for $56.7 million, and will earn nearly $20 million next season. The former Boston Celtic will run the point in Charlotte, taking over for Kemba Walker, and while some couldn’t believe how much Rozier swung in the deal, Turner believes Rozier deserves to be paid the same as the league’s elite, because he sees the point guard as “right there with the elite.”
“Luckily, people respected what he did enough last year when he was a starter to put some faith in him,” Turner told The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “People say, ‘Oh, Terry only shot this percentage.’ The Hornets are bringing him in to start. Look at his numbers as a starter. He’s right there with the elite, the [Mike] Conleys, the [Kyle] Lowrys. He’s not far behind Kyrie. He’s elite as a starter, and that’s what they’re bringing him in to do.”
In 14 starts last season, Rozier made 42.9 percent of his shots, 40.5 percent of his 3-pointers and 89.5 percent of his free throws, compared with 37.5, 33.7 and 75.7 percent, respectively, as a reserve. In 30 career starts, he averaged 13.1 points while shooting 40.1 percent from the floor and 39.6 percent from the beyond the arc.
“I think he’s going to flourish,” Turner said. “I think he’s going to be Terry from the playoffs and more. I think in a year from now, people are going to be like, ‘I can’t believe the Hornets got Terry Rozier for the deal they got him for.’ Right now, people are saying like ‘Wow, people paid that much for Terry?’ I think in a year, the narrative is going to be totally different.”
Rozier certainly could take a step forward with extended minutes next season with the Hornets, but he still has a long way to go before he elevates to the level of Mike Conley, and even further to get near Kyrie.
But hey, Turner gets paid to pump his client’s tires, so you can’t fault him for doing his job. Now it’s Rozier’s turn to back up the self-created hype.
