After signing a three-year, $27 million free agent deal to join the Hornets last summer, Lance Stephenson’s first season in Charlotte has not gone according to plan.
Stephenson’s game has struggled, and he was stamped with the dreaded “DNP-CD” tag in the team’s most critical game of the year—a 116-104 loss Monday night to the visiting Boston Celtics.
Lance says he has no regrets about joining the Hornets, and promises to remain patient throughout the entire frustrating process.
Per the AP:
Stephenson is shooting just 37.7 percent from the field and has made only 16 percent of his 3-point attempts. Things have gone so downhill that he didn’t even play in Charlotte’s biggest game so far this season — a 116-104 loss Monday night to the Boston Celtics — despite two starters being out with injuries.
The loss dropped the Hornets 1 ½ games behind the Celtics in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference entering Tuesday night. […] Stephenson lost his starting job early in the season and had been playing with the second rotation until this week.
Stephenson said he still believes he can turn things around in Charlotte, but said he just needs “that freedom to let me play through mistakes.” […] Still, he doesn’t regret signing with Charlotte. “Not at all,” Stephenson said. “I love this system. I love my coaches. I love my teammates. Some people come into systems and fit right in. Some people it takes time. I feel like with me I’m going to take time.”
