Lance Stephenson says he’s more than ready to take on the challenge of playing for the LA Clippers, but he can’t help but feel as though he squandered his chance in Charlotte.
The Hornets shipped Stephenson out after just one season, and Lance admits that he’s bummed out by the fact that team owner Michael Jordan gave up on him so quickly.
The 24-year-old put up some historically awful numbers and quickly wore out his welcome in Charlotte.
Per Bleacher Report:
A little more than a year ago, Lance Stephenson and his agent, Alberto Ebanks, flew to Las Vegas to meet with Hornets owner Michael Jordan and some of the team’s brass. On July 15, Stephenson became a Hornet. […] This summer, Stephenson, 24, was back in Vegas, representing a new team, the Clippers, and training five days a week at the Impact Basketball gym. His main goal over the past two months has been to become more of an actual shooting guard, to prepare for his bigger off-the-ball role in Los Angeles.
Was Michael Jordan helpful to you on and off the court? […] LS: “He was communicating with me, telling me to keep a positive head even though I had a rough year. This was one of the roughest seasons—injuries, not getting my spot back. I felt like I could help this squad, but it just didn’t go the way I planned it to go. It’s a good learning experience and it really humbled me because when you have high expectations, you feel like you’re that guy. It made me feel like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to keep working. Never stop grinding. Don’t take this stuff for granted because playing basketball is a blessing and you’re getting paid for it.'”
Does it hurt at all that MJ traded you only after one season? […] LS: “Yeah, definitely it hurt me. I felt like I could’ve done more for the organization, I felt like we had pieces, and we just couldn’t get over that hump. There were a lot of injuries, a lot of things that just held us back from having a successful season.”
