Hornets alpha males Jordan and Rozier: ‘Probably would have fought’ as Bulls
Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier says he gets owner Michael Jordan’s message about players holding each other more accountable next season.
However, Rozier says he’s mindful that not everyone handles criticism from peers the same.
“I feel like a lot of guys can’t take being yelled at in front of others,” Rozier said in a season-end call with Charlotte media. “I feel like when you learn (each teammate), then you know how to confront him.”
Jordan, a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player, met with the players by video call for about an hour recently. They discussed the ESPN documentary “The Last Dance,” which chronicled Jordan’s last of six title runs with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan calling out teammates, sometimes to the point of getting into fights with them, was a major plot line of the documentary.
How might it have gone had Rozier, known for being feisty, played on those Bulls teams in the late 1990s?
“We probably would have fought a couple of times — I’d take the Steve Kerr route,” Rozier said, referring to the fight between Jordan and now-Golden State Warriors coach Kerr. “I’m super competitive.”
Rozier said had Jordan corrected him in a “crazy way,” he’d have reminded Jordan, “I’m right here with you” trying to do the right thing.
Could Jordan act the same way toward teammates if he was playing now? Hornets center Cody Zeller said that came up in the meeting, and Jordan acknowledged he was different when he came out of retirement to play with the Washington Wizards in 2001 through 2003
“That next generation of players who came in, they didn’t really want to hear the same feedback — the harshness that he used in his Chicago,” Zeller recalled of Jordan’s remarks.
News and Notes
Other noteworthy things from two days of Hornets end-of-season interviews:
Bacon looks gone: Dwayne Bacon, who will be a free agent in October, says he expects to “go somewhere else” to restart his career next season.
Bacon began the season as a starter, fell out of the rotation, and ended up with the G-League Greensboro Swarm. He told The Observer in February he had doubts if the Hornets coaching staff still believes in him.
Bridges one-on-one: Forward Miles Bridges was asked how he thinks he’d do in a one-on-one game against Jordan. “I think I could beat him,” Bridges replied.
Better ballhandling: Forward P.J. Washington, a rookie starter from the opener, said his goal for the offseason is to become a better ballhandler/playmaker.
Washington said the improvement at the end of the season, when the Hornets beat the Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets and Miami Heat, was largely about better defense: “We took it a lot more seriously.”
Chance to practice: Center Bismack Biyombo, a vice president of the players association, says he expects there will be an agreement between the NBA and the union that will allow the eight teams not part of the season resumption (including the Hornets) to do some practicing.
“We cannot go without any type of competition for eight months,” Biyombo said of the extended layoff between games. “Even if it’s practice, that’s some way to play basketball and bump with each other.”
