Charlotte Hornets: Can Mo Williams Make A Difference?

In case you somehow missed it, the Charlotte Hornets finally made a trade. After weeks of rumors swirling around, the Hornets agreed to send Gary Neal to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Mo Williams and Troy Daniels.

Many in the Charlotte area have responded much better to this trade than the previous rumors.

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We’ve gone through hearing that Lance Stephenson, Gerald Henderson, and Marvin Williams could be off to Brooklyn in exchange for Joe Johnson. We’ve also heard that Stephenson could have been heading to Brooklyn for Jarrett Jack and Jeremy Lamb.

The one similarity in the rumors — Lance Stephenson — is why many were surprised that this trade included Gary Neal instead.

So with all of that being said, is this a good move for the Hornets? Can Mo Williams actually make a difference?

Yes — at least on paper.

In many ways, Williams will be coming in to fit the role Gary Neal had taken over once Kemba Walker went under the knife.

Neal and Stephenson were asked to combine in order to form a backup point guard. Stephenson eventually took over, as it became clear that Neal just doesn’t posses the skill-set to make it work – he’s most effective as a spot-up shooter.

Mo Williams will be a much better fit for this role, mostly because he’s actually a point guard.

For starters, Williams is averaging 6.4 assists per game this season. To put that in perspective, Gary Neal has only tallied six assists in a game twice this season. In fact, in the seven games since Kemba Walker has had surgery, Neal is only averaging 1.4 assists.

Not only will Williams bring more assists, he also brings more scoring. He’s averaging 12.2 points to Neal’s 9.6 (granted, he’s playing about seven more minutes per game than Neal). Williams is also fresh off of a 52-point performance just a month ago, so we know he can score.

This move may also make a difference from a subtraction point of view, as well as addition.

Gary Neal was just not getting it done for the Hornets. Since January, he’s shot an abysmal 32.1 percent from the field, including a cringe-worthy 24 percent on three-pointers. Those numbers are bad enough, but when you consider that he’s supposed to be a three-point specialist, they’re even worse. He’s only been averaging 7.3 points per contest in that stretch as well.

To put things in perspective, during that same stretch, Mo Williams has shot 41.5 percent overall and 37.4 percent from beyond the arc, while averaging 14.9 points per game.

Clearly from a numbers standpoint, this move makes perfect sense for the Hornets. It also makes sense from a basketball perspective.

Williams has spent a couple seasons of his career as a shooting guard. This is key because it means that he’ll still bring something to the table when Kemba Walker returns.

Having guards that can handle the ball has been an issues for the Hornets for the majority of the season. However, that issues is now solved, as (when Walker returns) Williams, Walker, and Brian Roberts will all be viable ball-handlers that will figure to see plenty of minutes.

All in all, this was a great move by the Charlotte Hornets’ front office on paper. It doesn’t turn them into contenders, however, it does solidify them as a legitimate playoff team.

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