Why Terry Rozier changed his mind about the Hornets’ losing culture

For four-and-a-half seasons, Terry Rozier played for the Charlotte Hornets, serving as one of their leading scorers during that stretch. Unfortunately, the combo guard failed to reach the playoffs in any of those years, a result he had to get used to after suiting up for the perennial contenders, the Boston Celtics, in his first years in the league.

Midway into the 2023-24 campaign, Rozier changed teams again after Charlotte shipped him to the Miami Heat in exchange for a future first-round pick (protected in 2027 and unprotected in 2028).

While he could have just moved on to his new squad without much ado, he issued a parting shot to the Hornets organization sometime after the deal.

Terry Rozier's made a U-turn on his view about the Hornets

Rozier was asked nearly a week after his move to South Florida how losing in Charlotte was different from losing in Miami. His response raised some eyebrows among some of the Hornets faithful, as he said, "It's the total opposite. In Charlotte, you're kinda used to losing. It's in the DNA. Over here, it's the total opposite. Nobody wants to lose. Nobody is fine with it."

There might have been some truth to his statement, though, as he lost a little more than 60% of his games in a Hornets uniform.

Interestingly, Rozier recently changed his tunes about his former team when the Heat faced off against it in the preseason. During an interview with the media, the veteran playmaker gushed about how the Hornets players have bought into what the top brass has passed down and shown a different mentality.

So, what made him see Charlotte in a positive light? He believes the current owners and, presumably, the team executives have a lot to do with it, stating, "They have a mindset aligned with the new owners and everything."

Rozier had a brief experience with the ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, who succeeded Michael Jordan as the organization's majority owner in the summer of 2023. However, his Hornets tenure didn't coincide with the present architect of the squad, executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson, who was brought in over a month after his trade to the Heat.

Peterson, along with new coach Charles Lee, has been hands-on in trying to cultivate a winning culture in Charlotte. They have provided the crew with a clear direction, which should boost the team's hopes of becoming a playoff contender in the years to come. The wins might not come immediately, but chances are that losing would now leave a bitter taste in the mouths of today's Hornets players.