Charlotte Hornets veteran forward Marvin Williams is working on coming to terms with the Hornets on a buyout so that the 33-year-old can latch on to a contending team, reports ESPN senior writer Adrian Wojnarowski.
Williams is in his 15th season in the NBA, and could provide a team of his choosing veteran leadership and excellent defence from small forwards to centers while shooting 37.6 % from deep this season.
He’s putting up 6.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and an assist per game over 19.1 minutes per contest, and should be on the Boston Celtics radar if the team is serious about pursuing some shooting for the bench.
He was also a longtime teammate of All-Star Boston point guard Kemba Walker when the UConn product was at his last stop, with the Hornets.
Forward Marvin Williams is finalizing a contract buyout with the Charlotte Hornets, league sources tell ESPN. Williams, 33, will become a free agent target for contending teams.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2020
The Celtics decided to stand pat at the trade deadline, and may again if no interested parties able to help out above the players most likely to be cut from Boston’s roster can.
Rookie center Vincent Poirier is most often floated in such a role, but given he is owed $2.5 million this season and $2.6 next.
The Celtics may instead turn to rookie wing Javonte Green, earning just under $900,000 guaranteed this season, with just $100,000 of next season’s $1.5 million contract guaranteed.
Green, however, has been an intermittently productive player, contributing 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds over just 9.3 minutes per game, and Williams is one of a handful of potential buyout options who might reliably help more.
Marvin Williams is a rarity — a buyout guy good enough to actually help a good team. Think Utah, Boston, Houston could all really use him.
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) February 8, 2020
Still, at age 33, Williams is unlikely to have a long future with the team should he be interested in signing with Boston, and Green and Poirier could still develop into quality rotation players at 26 years old each.
The front office will have to decide whether the risk of disrupting team chemistry is worth the boost in production any such player could provide, and they’ll have to have made that decision my March 1st, the latest date for a player to bought out in order to be playoff eligible.
Williams, however, is one of the better options likely to come available that could earnestly help any playoff team, and particularly Boston.
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