Report: Celtics agree to sign-and-trade Terry Rozier to the Hornets

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Hornets plan to agree on a sign-and-trade for Terry Rozier for a $58M contract.

In four years with the Celtics, Rozier averaged 7.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game on 38% from the field, 35.4% from 3 and 77.7% from the free-throw line. His most memorable stretch as a Celtic in the 2018 NBA Playoffs – the Scary Terry days that featured him as Boston’s starting guard – saw him averaging 16.5 points, 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds on 40.6% shooting from the field in 36.6 minutes.

This comes on the heels of news of Kyrie Irving’s departure and, to an extent, Kemba Walker’s arrival. Although things seemed bleak earlier this offseason after the report of both Irving and Al Horford leaving, the indication that Terry Rozier’s deal is a sign-and-trade could mean an opportunity to retain Al Horford while also gaining additional roster flexibility.

We’ll need more shoes to drop before we get the whole picture, but this being a sign-and-trade and not an outright offer sheet is very encouraging for a team that could sorely use Horford’s services next season. Stay tuned.

Update:

Time to pour cold water on Al Horford hopes and dreams, per Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald:

That’s...unfortunate, though there are still benefits to executing a sign and trade, including more space to work with under the hard apron including the full MLE instead of the Room Exception. Stay locked to see how the Horford saga plays out as well as the exact terms of Rozier’s sign-and-trade deal.

Update to the update:

Hope, much like the 2018 Hospital Celtics, just won’t die.