Charlotte Hornets: Terry Rozier mentioned as a snub on ESPN’s Top-100

During their annual NBA rankings debate, ESPN mentioned Terry Rozier of the Charlotte Hornets as a snub who didn’t make their Top 100 Players list.

With the 2019-20 season quickly approaching for the Charlotte Hornets, many around the league have released player rankings. This is typically something you see a lot of as we try to make it through the final stages of the off-season.

ESPN were the most recent to unveil their Top 100 Players list, and while a Charlotte Hornets player didn’t make the list, like with Sports Illustrated’s version, a somewhat positive remark can be taken away from it.

When discussing who the biggest snubs from the Top 100 were, ESPN’s Andre Snellings claimed he was close to picking Terry Rozier before settling with Memphis’ Jonas Valanciunas:

"“I almost picked Terry Rozier by default because someone is going to have to produce for the Hornets this season, but Jonas Valanciunas was too strong not to pick… He’s a legit 20-10 threat this season who has had a positive defensive RPM for four straight seasons — a clear top-100 player.”"

While Rozier is clearly not a top-100 player based on his play last season, it’s nice to see Snellings tackle his rankings by projection. He’s going to be counted on to provide a lot of scoring and facilitating for the Charlotte Hornets during the 2019-20 season and could very well end up being in the top-100 during the season.

With Boston last season, Rozier averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting just 39 percent from the floor. Despite his disappointing season, he was able to land a three-year, $58 million deal from the Hornets early on in free agency.

Now that he is a starter and not a backup, things are going to open up tremendously for Rozier. He’s a safe bet to improve his statistics across the board during his first season in Charlotte.

Valanciunas is a great pick on his part, and someone that I would also pick over Rozier. Still, it’s going to be interesting to see what kind of conversation we are having about Rozier and the rest of the Hornets a year from now regarding the Top-100 List.

Another player that could climb into the list of top-100 players would be Miles Bridges. Both he and Rozier are the two best players on this team and will both see a major increase in responsibilities moving forward.

Bridges averaged 7.5 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Charlotte Hornets as a rookie last season. He showed a ton of promise on the defensive end, as well as his playmaking and finishing ability. If he ever develops a consistent jumpshot, he will be a nightmare match-up for many players in this league.

While it’s not a surprise to not see a Charlotte Hornets player on the Top-100 Players List, it was pretty cool to see Terry Rozier get a little bit of recognition. Let’s hope he can prove to everyone that he was indeed a snub, and maybe crack the list prior to the 2020-21 season.