Terry Rozier reflects on NBA journey that took him through Charlotte to Miami: ‘I’m just thankful’

Terry Rozier’s four-plus seasons in Charlotte never resulted in a playoff appearance for the Hornets. In fact, Rozier’s time in Charlotte led to just one winning season for the Hornets.

But with Rozier returning to Charlotte as the opponent for the first time since the Hornets traded him to the Miami Heat on Jan. 23, he looks back fondly at his time with the Hornets.

“What me and that city shared for 4.5 years is something that I can’t even explain,” Rozier, 30, said before going back to Charlotte for the Heat’s preseason opener against the Hornets on Tuesday night. “I loved it. I grew a lot there. A lot of things happened in those four years, a lot of difficulties and stuff like that. But I learned a lot, I grew there, so it’s going to be bittersweet when I go back.”

Injury news and observations from Heat’s Red, White & Pink scrimmage on eve of preseason opener

Sweet because Rozier gets to spend time in Charlotte, North Carolina, a city that he built a connection with. Sweet because he gets to catch up with some familiar faces who are still with the Hornets.

Bitter because it’s going to bring back emotions that Rozier is trying to move past. Rozier said he’s happy that his first matchup against the Hornets since the move to Miami comes in the preseason so “we can get it out of the way.”

“It’s super weird,” Rozier said of returning to Charlotte as a member of the opposing team for the first time since his trade to the Heat. “But I treat this like the same thing as going back to Boston. I love the city, all the moments that I shared, but I’m just kind of ready for the game to be over with because there are so many emotions with it and stuff like that. But I’m excited to see all my old teammates, see a lot of fans and stuff there. Hopefully they show some love.”

Why did Rozier enjoy his time in Charlotte so much despite all the losing?

“Because I got to hoop, at the end of the day,” he said. “I love playing basketball. I don’t really like all the extra stuff with it. Obviously, I had goals of trying to get them to the playoffs. That was a goal for me every year and it sucks that it didn’t happen. I wanted to share that with the city. But that’s why.”

After spending the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Boston Celtics, Rozier spent the next four-plus seasons with the Hornets. While being used in a bigger role as part of a young and rebuilding Hornets team, Rozier’s most productive seasons in terms of stats came with Charlotte.

The five highest-scoring regular seasons of Rozier’s NBA career came during his time with the Hornets, including last season when he averaged 23.2 points per game in 30 games with Charlotte before that number dipped to 16.4 points per game in 31 games with Miami following the midseason trade to close the season at 19.8 points per game.

“I was fortunate to go to Boston for four years, and then you go to a team like that where you got young guys and you’re trying to pick it up and now I’m back on a contending team,” Rozier said of now finding himself with the Heat. “I’m just thankful for everything, I’m thankful for the journey.”

That journey, even with the Heat, has included some turbulent times. Rozier missed the Heat’s final 11 games last season — the final four games of the regular season, the two play-in tournament games and the entire five-game first-round playoff series against the Celtics — because of a troublesome neck injury.

But after an offseason of recovery, Rozier was cleared to play 5-on-5 basketball last month just weeks before the start of training camp. So far, so good for Rozier since training camp opened last week.

“I feel great, man. I feel great,” Rozier emphasized. “I’m thankful to be back out there with my teammates. All the praise goes to the man upstairs. I just want to keep it going and stay healthy for a full season with my guys.”

Heat coaches and players have already noticed something different about Rozier as he prepares to begin his first full season with the team.

“I’ve seen more of his personality come out,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We were already starting to see that toward the tail end of last year. I think he came in, rightfully so, just taking everything in, a little bit quiet. But he has a really engaging personality. He’s been much more like himself, I’m sure, at the start of this camp.”

Rozier is expected to open the season as the Heat’s starting point guard. He’s also expected to open the season appreciative for his entire NBA journey — from Boston to Charlotte to Miami — after spending the last five months dealing with a concerning neck issue that he has since moved past.

“This whole offseason, when I first got hurt, I definitely appreciated the game way more than I ever did,” Rozier said. “That’s why I said everything happens for a reason. I really feel like this happened for a reason to make me lock back in, to focus. Now I’m just not looking back.”

HEAT INJURY UPDATE

All 21 players on the Heat’s preseason roster traveled to Charlotte for Tuesday’s preseason opener, but not all 21 will play.

At least three will be unavailable, as Tyler Herro (right groin strain), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (left groin strain) and Josh Richardson (right shoulder surgery rehab) were held out of Monday night’s “Red, White & Pink Game” intrasquad scrimmage at Kaseya Center and won’t play on Tuesday against the Hornets.

While Richardson’s rehab from March surgery on his right shoulder continues, Spoelstra downplayed the groin injuries to Herro and Jaquez following Monday’s scrimmage. Spoelstra said he expects Herro and Jaquez “back in full contact soon.”

“Everybody can take a big breath. Everything is OK,” Spoelstra added. “This is not a storyline about new protocols. This is just the appropriate thing right now. They’re all day to day. Jaime and Tyler are day to day.”

SPOELSTRA’S REACTION

The Heat announced Monday that all current and future courts at its home arena will be dedicated to team president Pat Riley. The Heat’s home court will now be known as “Pat Riley Court at Kaseya Center,” with this new name and Riley’s signature inscribed onto the court.

“I think it’s totally badass,” Spoelstra said of the news. “I really do. They kept us in the dark on this. This came out of nowhere. But I think it’s totally badass. I just think it’s awesome to be able to have that on display every single night, for everybody here in South Florida to be able to honor him and respect that night to night. We’ve had ‘Culture’ on the court. This is way more fitting. The culture is Pat.”

Riley will become just the second coach in NBA history to receive such an honor, joining Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics.

Riley’s permanent on-court dedication will be unveiled when the Heat opens the regular season against the Orlando Magic at Kaseya Center on Oct. 23.