Hornets' Terry Rozier No Longer With Puma
Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier has stopped wearing Puma and switched to playing in Nike shoes after reportedly coming to an end in his deal with Puma, as FanNationKicks.com relayed.
Rozier had worn Puma shoes on the court since 2018 while he was with the Boston Celtics. Fellow Hornet LaMelo Ball is a longtime Puma adherent — he has a signature sneaker line with the German footwear and apparel brand.
But Rozier never got a signature shoe while with Puma. And starting this preseason, eagled-eyed basketball viewers noticed Rozier was no longer sporting Puma and was seemingly showing off his collection of Nike basketball shoes such as the Kobe Bryant models. This has continued into the 2023-24 regular season.
When first with Puma, Rozier seemed proud of the partnership. In 2018, he told B/R Kicks, "Me signing with Puma is basically letting you know I'm taking over the Puma world. You got guys taking over Adidas, you got guys taking over Nike — whatever. I'm competing with the Puma world, and I'm taking over that s--t."
He added, "I feel like I'm going to turn it up because, I ain't gonna knock nobody on Puma, but I feel like I'm very marketable, I'm the guy that they needed to sign."
It's currently unclear if Rozier will sign a long-term deal with Nike. Earlier this month, he told WFNZ that he's a sneaker free agent right now.
Puma has since signed the rookie Scoot Henderson, 2023's No. 3 draft pick for the Portland Trailblazers; Henderson currently has a signature Puma shoe and associated line of clothing. The Hornets No. 2 pick from the same draft class, Brandon Miller, is with Nike.
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