USA TODAY Sports-Raj Mehta
After stunning the NBA world with a 43-39 record and a playoff berth last year, the Charlotte Hornets have been a major disappointment thus far in the 2014-15 season. With a 22-29 record, the Hornets luckily find themselves tied for the No. 7 spot in the pathetic bottom half of the Eastern Conference standings. With the Brooklyn Nets trailing the final playoff spot by just a single game, the Hornets made a trade early Tuesday afternoon in an attempt to bolster their playoff chances and make a run at their second-straight postseason appearance.
Charlotte General Manager Rich Cho announced that the team has acquired guards Mo Williams and Troy Daniels, along with cash considerations, from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Gary Neal and the Miami Heat’s 2019 second-round draft pick. As a result of the two-for-one exchange, the Hornets released Elliot Williams.
The recently-acquired Williams, a 12-year NBA veteran, has averaged 12.2 points and 6.4 assists per game in 41 games with the Timberwolves this season. Now with his eighth different team, Williams is expected to step in to the starting point guard role for the Hornets right away. With starting point guard Kemba Walker expected to miss another five weeks following surgery on his left knee, Charlotte was in desperate need of a quality point guard with the Feb. 19 trade deadline quickly approaching.
Neal, a fifth-year guard, is in the midst of the worst season of his career. Without having to trade away much value for Williams, the Hornets did a good job acquiring immediate help without sacrificing any part of the team’s future.
This trade signals the Hornets are going to do just about whatever it takes to make the playoffs. They’re extremely unlikely to make much noise at all in the postseason, but if simply being one of the top-eight teams in the East is their goal, this trade certainly helps accomplish that.
With 31 games remaining in the season, the Hornets playoff push begins now.
