Is losing in Charlotte’s ‘DNA?’ Hornets react to Rozier comments about franchise culture

If anyone is well-versed in all things Charlotte Hornets, it’s the man who sits on the end of the bench.

Steve Clifford is in his second stint as the franchise’s coach and knows the inner workings of the Hornets thanks to his six-plus years with the team. He’s also keen on Terry Rozier, having coached him for a season-plus before the Hornets traded the veteran guard to Miami last week.

And Clifford believes a few things may have been lost in translation when Rozier said the mentality and culture is much different with the Heat because “in Charlotte, you’re kind of used to losing. It’s in the DNA. It sucks to say that because of how much of a competitor I am.”

Clifford, whose team dropped a 117-110 decision to Chicago at Spectrum Center on Wednesday night, didn’t take issue with Rozier’s choice of words.

“I interpreted that as I think he was more talking about the pressure to win in Miami than there was here,” Clifford said. “I think he just made a statement. I love Terry, everybody loves Terry. Terry loves our guys. I just think sometimes things get taken. He made a statement. I don’t think it’s any big deal.”

Losers of 22 of their last 25 games and having barely cracked double digits in the win column as the calendar flips to February, the Hornets (10-36) are already in retool mode, pondering which players to move for the best return. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2016, only registering two play-in tournament blowout losses in 2021 and 2022.

Rozier spent four-plus seasons with the Hornets and couldn’t help pull them out of their malaise. He was one of their main voices during his tenure in Charlotte, giving weight to the choice words about his former employer.

“I mean, he’s not wrong,” Miles Bridges said. “I’m not saying we’ve got losing DNA, but the way that we’ve been taking losses and … I wouldn’t say we are getting used to it, but it’s like we are just moving on. We are not really taking it that serious. We’ve got to take it serious, man.

“Terry is getting a lot of backlash for what he said, but he’s been in the locker room. He’s been a vet in this locker room and he sees what’s going on. So, we’ve just got to turn that into motivation.”

PJ Washington dismissed Rozier’s take, rendering the comments inconsequential.

“It don’t really matter, honestly,” Washington said. “Terry was here. He fought with us. Everybody knows each and every day we come in here with an attitude of getting better, so no matter what nobody says, we know what we do, and we know how hard we work and we come out every night and fight.

“We win some, we lose some. It is what it is, but each and every day we are in here busting our ass trying to get better. So, that’s what it’s all about.”

Clifford pointed to the massive number of injuries that have piled up over these past two seasons, knowing how they’ve wreaked havoc and make it difficult to sustain any semblance of continuity. This season alone, the Hornets have a combined 183 games missed due to injury, which trails only Memphis.

And although the Hornets won’t catch the Grizzlies in that department given the season-ending situations of South Carolina native Ja Morant and big man Steven Adams, the numbing nature of the non-stop revolving door heading into the training camp is dizzying.

“I can coach better and all that, but the injuries have been devastating,” Clifford said. “You can’t win like this. Our guys actually, last year they hung in there and we got a lot better, we played better as the year went on. What you have to do is what they’re doing. They were great this morning. Our guys want to win. And what happens as a coach is you have to be able to turn the page, which I’m not sure I’ve done a good job of and have got to be better.

“If we had everybody and played pretty good, to me, we could’ve been a fifth-, sixth-place team. But we’re not that now. And you coach a team like this differently than you coach a team like with Kemba (Walker) and those guys. And I’ve got to be able to do that to help them more, too.”

Clifford defended the franchise, breaking down how it unfolded from his perspective and the reasoning for it unraveling to its current state.

“I think the thing you have to get to is just ‘why?’” Clifford said. “I think we made the playoffs two of the first three years. Our best team we had here, we were sixth (in the Eastern Conference). We won like 47, 48, we lost to Miami in seven games (in 2016). But we had seven free agents and we only had enough money to bring two of them back.

“We lost Al Jefferson, Courtney Lee, Jeremy Lin, Troy Daniels and somebody else all in the same year, and the next year our starters were like eighth in plus-minus, but we couldn’t bring all those guys back and we never got depth again.”

But this time, things are different in Clifford’s eyes. He insists the main culprit has little to do with any kind of financial situation during his second tour of duty in Charlotte.

“It’s not an organizational thing,” he said. “You can go back through draft picks and this and that. We actually have a good nucleus here, so we’ll see. In these two years — and it’s not an excuse — these injuries have crushed us. And yet I’ve got to find a way so we can play better. That’s my responsibility is that we play better.

“Last year when I looked at it in the summer watching film, we got a lot, lot better on both sides of the ball. This year we haven’t done that yet. We have time to do it, but that’s the coaching part. That’s the head coach’s job.”

LaMelo Ball sits again

Make it three straight missed games for LaMelo Ball.

The Hornets star point guard sat out against the Bulls, meaning he’s been unavailable for 24 of their 46 outings and has missed more games than he’s played in during his fourth season. The right ankle he tweaked not long after his return apparently remains tender.

“He’s just really sore and it’s again a day-by-day thing,” Clifford said. “He’s able to do some stuff in practice, but you can just see he doesn’t feel great.”

Is it precautionary to ensure there’s no long-term ill effects?

“He’s just not able to go,” Clifford said. “I haven’t thought about how to term it. He doesn’t feel well enough to play.”

Update on Gordon Hayward and Mark Williams

Gordon Hayward hasn’t been seen in uniform since the day after Christmas. It’s still unclear when that will change, but there is a hint of improvement with the team’s highest-paid player.

Hayward, who strained his left calf against the Clippers in Los Angeles on Dec. 26, is currently doing individual basketball activities, which is a step in the right direction considering he hasn’t been spotted doing anything on the court during his usual pregame warmup slot. But beyond that, there’s no definitive word when he’s going to be on the floor with his teammates again.

As for Mark Williams, he’s progressing through his rehab as he works through his lower back contusion, but it’s a slow process and there’s no timetable from the team on when he’ll be in the lineup again. If he isn’t cleared to begin team activities soon, it’s hard to see him returning before the All-Star break.

Getting his conditioning in order will be one of the top priorities prior to his return to action.