After a solid year last season with the Indiana Pacers, Lance Stephenson made a business decision this past offseason when signing a three-year, $27 million deal with the Charlotte Hornets.
With a young, up-and-coming squad, many thought Stephenson would strive with Kemba Walker in the backcourt. So far, he has struggled.
Hornets head coach Steve Clifford pinpoints the guard's struggles on him trying to live up the superstar-caliber expectations.
"To be fair, one of the things that's made it more difficult for him is that he came here and people proclaimed him as the next superstar," Clifford said Wednesday, via ESPN. "He's not a star. He's a guy that has talent to become a star. To be a star in this league, you have to do it over years."
Clifford's comments come after he benched Stephenson for the whole fourth quarter in a 105-97 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Hornets currently sit towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 4-12 record. It doesn't help when you add in the fact that they're currently on a seven-game losing streak.
Stephenson, for his part, is averaging 9.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 36.8 percent from the field.
Obviously, it's been frustrating for Stephenson so far this year. We'll see if he can fix it and pick things back up.
