Exit Kemba, enter Terry.

Refusing to sit tight after watching Kemba Walker skate out of town to head to Boston, the Hornets quickly reached an agreement on a sign-and-trade with free agent point guard Terry Rozier at the outset of the start of free agency Sunday. As first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Rozier plans to agree to a three-year, $58 million deal once all the logistics can be sorted out.

Players can’t officially sign contracts until July 6 when the moratorium is lifted.

It’s a hefty pact for someone who’s been primarily a backup during his four seasons with the Celtics and it sent social media into a frenzy, given it came mere hours after Walker informed the Hornets he was moving on to sign with Boston. The Hornets didn’t pony up anywhere close to the $189 million “regular” max amount they could have offered Walker over five years, much less the $221 million supermax.

But they opened up the checkbook for Rozier and he’s now the person running the show in coach James Borrego’s offense.

As we await to see how the deal shakes out, here’s a look at five things you should know with Rozier headed to Charlotte.

1. He’s no Kemba, but who is?

Let’s begin by saying there’s only one Kemba Walker. What he endured by carrying the team on his back nightly, torching the likes of Jimmy Butler for a cool 60 points in November, is in a class by itself. No one should expect Rozier to slide into Walker’s role and dole out the same kind of production.

But he is a playmaker as well as a good scorer. He has to get better at finishing at the bucket, but he can shoot it from beyond the arc, nailing 35.3 percent of his 3-pointers this past season. His overall career field goal percentage of 38 percent needs to improve, so shot selection for the four-year veteran is going to be important. That’s one of the knocks on him and it’s something he’ll have to curtail on a team that will be centered around its young core with Walker gone.

Terry Rozier stood out in the 2018 playoffs. (Greg M. Cooper / USA Today)

2. Ready for his closeup

This is what Rozier has been working toward.

When Kyrie Irving went down late in the 2018 season with a knee injury as Boston was charging toward the postseason, people thought the Celtics were in serious trouble and would severely miss Irving’s services. Rozier proved otherwise. Thrust into the playoff spotlight, he made the best of his time to shine and put on a show. In those 19 postseason games a year ago, he averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. It’s that kind of production that had some thinking he was poised for a breakout regular season in 2018-19. Instead, he was converted back into more of a role player when Irving returned.

He’s waited for his opportunity to become a full-fledged starter and coming to Charlotte gives him the chance to do just that.

Devonte Graham averaged 4.7 points and 2.6 assists in limited minutes last season as a rookie. (Reinhold Matay / USA Today)

3. Developing Devonte’

Although he played well in spurts in his rookie season, Devonte’ Graham isn’t quite ready for a featured starting gig and bringing Rozier on board should alleviate any pressure on him to elevate himself into the game’s starting lineup. Graham benefited greatly in his first season by being a quick study on the bench and during his time in the G League in Greensboro.

He also soaked up knowledge from Walker and Tony Parker. Giving him time to refine his game while not facing any unnecessary and undue pressure to develop faster than he has to is a good thing. He displayed promise and the last thing the Hornets should do is stunt is growth by trying to accelerate it.

4. What’s next?

Most likely another move. After ponying up nearly $20 million a season for Rozier, the Hornets still have a hole to fill at shooting guard. Jeremy Lamb agreed to a deal with the Indiana Pacers, according to Charania, so they have to replace him with someone else.

Currently, they are somewhere in the neighborhood of having $115 million-$120 million committed to their 2019-20 payroll. That would put them roughly $20 million-$25 million below the hard cap threshold and around $12 million-$17 million below the tax line.

Provided they do not go over the hard cap of $138.9 million — which GM Mitch Kupchak insinuated last week was not a part of their offseason equation since they will not top the $132 million luxury tax threshold — the Hornets still have the $9.2 million mid-level exception at their disposal. Additionally, they also have the bi-annual exception that equates to $7.4 million over two years.

Expect more movement. As constructed following Rozier’s agreement, this roster needs a lot more work.

5. Beat writer’s take

Who could better explain what Rozier brings to the table than someone who covered him? Enter The Athletic’s Jared Weiss. He details what he thinks about Rozier’s game and his new opportunity (and he wrote what the deal means for the Celtics on Sunday).

Terry Rozier’s fit in Charlotte is great in the fact that he is starting. That was priority number one for Rozier entering free agency, probably even more than securing the bag that he secured like he was a green beret on an extraction mission. After filling in for Kyrie Irving at the point two seasons ago, Rozier scored 16.5 points per game in the playoffs as he helped lead the Celtics to within a few missed 3-pointers of the NBA Finals. Last season, he averaged 13.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 14 games as a starter, increasing his true shooting percentage from a paltry 48.4 percent to a much stronger 55.7 percent despite his usage rate declining by 0.1 percent. Those matchups generally came against weaker teams as Irving rested, but it is clearly indicative that Rozier can thrive as a starter.

The Hornets were one of several teams, including the Phoenix Suns, that were willing to take that bet. If the Hornets can get him screens to open up deep pull-up shots or clear the lane, Rozier can really succeed. He doesn’t finish well in traffic, although he has made steady progress over the past few years and finally got the confidence to throw down dunks against the defense. He’s a below average pick-and-roll passer, but he has shown he can make the basic reads when coming over a screen against average defenses.

He is a good positional defender at either guard spot, who can both stay in front of scoring point guards at the point of attack or track the league’s best off-ball shooting guards. He is a pest in the backcourt who can press the ballhandler all the way down the floor and disrupt the flow of the offense.

(Top photo of Terry Rozier: Jeremy Brevard / USA Today)