PLAYOFF-HOPEFUL HORNETS DEAL FOR MO WILLIAMS
The Charlotte Hornets acquired point guard Mo Williams, shooting guard Troy Daniels, and cash considerations from the Minnesota Timberwolves for combo guard Gary Neal and a second-round draft pick in 2019.
What does it give the Charlotte Hornets
Despite having star point guard Kemba Walker out the next month or so due to a knee injury, the Hornets are still strongly in the playoff hunt in the weak Eastern conference. Enter Williams, a talented and savvy veteran point guard who can keep the team in that hunt until Walker returns--and may possibly be a rental, since Williams' contract expires come summertime. While Williams himself is injury-prone and can be streaky, he's an above-average point man overall and an upgrade over current fill-in team QB Brian Roberts. Daniels probably won't play much, but does give Charlotte more options on the perimeter to replace Neal.
What does it give the Minnesota Timberwolves
This deal makes a lot of sense for the rebuilding T-Wolves. The recent return from injury of budding star point guard Ricky Rubio made Williams expendable, and Neal can step in as the new veteran backcourt backup. Meanwhile, the second-round draft pick (even though it's for far-off 2019) is another asset that can help with Minny's ongoing overhaul and youth movement. Moreover, Neal's contract expires after this season (which can open up more cash for the future).
Fantasy impact
Williams gets a fantasy boost from this deal, probably for the next month or so. He seems likely to take over the primary point guard duties from Roberts, who is solid but streaky. Clearly Roberts loses whatever fantasy value he had before this trade, while newcomer Daniels isn't likely to see much action with his new club. On the Minnesota side of things, Neal should see a minor uptick in sleeper potential here (since Minny's young guards have been injury-prone this season), but otherwise he's not much of a fantasy factor.
