Did Charlotte Hornets Punch Playoff Ticket with Mo Williams Acquisition?
The Charlotte Hornets made a crafty move to bolster their backcourt for the second half, adding point guard Mo Williams and 2-guard Troy Daniels from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Gary Neal and a future second-round draft pick.
This deal came together quickly, and was a no-brainer for the point guard-deprived Hornets. Kemba Walker is still out with a knee injury for the foreseeable future, and Brian Roberts is nothing more than a seat warmer. General manager Rich Cho needed to get on the phones, and he found just what the doctor ordered.
Frankly, he couldn't have done a better job. Mo Williams is no LeBron James, but he is definitely enough to solidify a playoff berth for the Hornets in the Eastern Conference.
Price Was Right
Ironically, the Gary Neal acquisition last year was made to help cement a playoff spot. Neal was completely rejuvenated after being thrown back into the thick of the postseason race, shooting over 40 percent from deep for Charlotte in 22 games after coming over from the Milwaukee Bucks with Luke Ridnour in exchange for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien.
This season, things went much differently. Neal became a liability on both ends of the floor, slumping to 35.9 percent shooting overall. For a guy with one role on the team, it became impossible to warrant giving him any minutes over people like Gerald Henderson or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Neal was also heading into unrestricted free agency, so dealing him along with a measly second-round pick in 2019 was an easy decision.
Mo Williams is a huge upgrade, and he is putting together a nice little bounce back season. Williams sports 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds a game thus far, shooting 34.7 percent from deep. He has had a couple of minor injuries of his own, but made 19 starts filling in for Ricky Rubio after he sprained his ankle. Rubio's return coupled with the development of Zach LaVine made Williams expendable. Minny might have been asking him to do a little more than he signed on for, but Williams will settle back into a perfect backup role in Charlotte.
The silver lining is that this move implies Charlotte is fully intent on winning right now. Rumors surfaced early on about the front office exploring a Lance Stephenson trade, but this is not a transaction that signals a waving of the white flag.
To expand upon that point, Charlotte has been extremely aggressive exploring other deals as well. Not only are the Hornets refusing to wave the white flag, but they are continuing to press their luck.
It remains to be seen if the price will be right for a Brook Lopez deal, but it certainly was for Mo Williams. Given that he is a free agent after this season as well, Charlotte couldn't turn this down.
Mo Fits in Perfectly
The Hornets revolve around Al Jefferson. He and Mo Williams are best friends. What more do you need to know?
"Al commands double-teams, and he is in my opinion the best low-post scorer at his position," Williams said. "You have to show him attention and double-team him. If you don't double-team him, he is going to score. I think I complement his game in terms of being able to knock down that open 3 when they do double him."
Williams is exactly right. Charlotte doesn't have the stable of shooters that it needs around Big Al, and Mo will immediately provide a boost in that category. Neal was supposed to fill that role, but his struggles opened the door for this move.
Charlotte is 25th in the NBA in three-point percentage from its bench at just 30.8 percent. It is also last in overall shooting percentage at 39.7 from the second unit. This increased the need for Williams, who may start until Walker returns, but will then provide Steve Clifford with a fantastic veteran option off the pine.
The Hornets could also use his passing, which has surprisingly improved in his latter years. Williams was posting 8.2 assists per-36 minutes for the young Timberwolves.
Williams will be asked to be the veteran backcourt presence much like he was in Minnesota. Just as he took on the role of assisting in the development of Andrew Wiggins, the dunking messiah Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng and Anthony Bennett, he will now be doing the same with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo, P.J. Hairston and Noah Vonleh.
Outlook
No one is expecting any more 52-point haymakers from Williams, but he will put a jolt into this struggling offense. Brian Roberts is not enough firepower to adequately hold down the fort until Walker gets back.
If Williams can do exactly what Neal did for the Bobcats last season, then he will have done his job. The fact that he is an able and willing passer is simply icing on the cake.
It will be interesting to see what kind of lineups Clifford rolls out when Walker returns. Charlotte is now capable of going small without compromising any productivity. Walker and Williams should be able to split backcourt time, and if Lance Stephenson could slide over to small forward for some minutes, it could make for a very prolific three-guard lineup with lightning-quick ball movement.
The chemistry that Williams already has with Jefferson will unquestionably ease his transition in Charlotte, and it could help get the big man going too. The two were teammates with the Utah Jazz in 2012-13. Last year, Jefferson posted 24.5 points and 11.4 rebounds a night after last year's All-Star break. Will yet another All-Star snub, coupled with the addition of his best friend, be enough to send him on a similar tear?
Even though the Eastern Conference standings are a little closer than they feel, Charlotte should not be overly concerned with dropping out of its current No. 7 slot, despite the Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers all being within two games of them. The Hornets are trending upward, and it is difficult to envision two of those teams making a big run in the second half to leapfrog them. Indiana could pose a problem should Paul George make good on his ambitious return date of mid-March, but it would be a long shot.
Hornets fans should not be purchasing playoff tickets just yet, but it wouldn't hurt to start setting a few dollars aside in advance. Charlotte is in good shape to make a second consecutive playoff appearance now.
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