The Minnesota Timberwolves weren’t able to fetch much in return for veteran point guard Mo Williams, shipping both he and second-year guard Troy Daniels to the Charlotte Hornets for guard Gary Neal and a 2019 second-round pick.
The trade was first reported by Shams Charania of RealGM, who says the Wolves (11-41) will now explore buyout negotiations with Neal.
Neal, 30, has disappointed in his role with Charlotte this year — shooting just 29% from beyond the arc, his specialty — but he’s only two years removed from a strong showing as a bench shooter with the San Antonio Spurs. That proven postseason experience could make him an attractive target for contenders, who would likely be able to add Neal at the league minimum for the rest of this season.
From Minnesota’s perspective, the deal essentially nets them just the 2019 second-round pick.
Meanwhile, the move certainly boosts the playoff chances for the Hornets (22-29), who are holding onto the No. 7 seed in the East but remain without star guard Kemba Walker for at least another five weeks while recovering from surgery on his left knee.
“We are excited to be adding two quality players to our organization,” Hornets general manager Rich Cho said in a statement. “Mo Williams is a proven NBA player who gives us additional versatility and depth in the backcourt, both while Kemba Walker is out and after Kemba returns.”
Williams, 32, started 19 games this season for Minnesota after Ricky Rubio went down with an ankle injury. On the whole, he’s averaging 12.2 points and 6.4 assists in 28 minutes per game this season — and even scored a career-high 52 points in a game last month against the Pacers.
“This was a difficult decision because of what Mo brought to our team and the impact he had on our young guys,” Wolves coach Flip Saunders said in a statement. “As a coach, you wanted to keep him because of his professionalism and understanding of what you wanted out of him as a player.”
“The exciting part is they’re in the playoff picture and I can see myself finishing my career [in Charlotte],” Williams told Yahoo‘s Marc J. Spears after the trade.
Trading Williams is very logical for the Wolves, of course. They’re in last place in the West, which makes them committed to developing younger talent and/or potentially tanking for the sake of a higher draft pick. Keeping a 12-year veteran guard in the fold wouldn’t make sense, especially with Williams’ one-year contract expiring this summer — potentially allowing him to leave for no compensation.
On the other hand, it’s a bit surprising that Minnesota didn’t hold out on dealing Williams until the deadline in hopes of a better potential return. With that expiring contract, Williams — on paper, at least — looked like an ideal rental for a contender, and those usually come with higher price tags than a second-round pick in four-plus years.
But these days, there may be more depth at point guard than at any prior point in NBA history. Because of that, it’s starting to feel like a buyer’s market for teams in need of help at that position.
HAWKS CLEAR CAP SPACE BY TRADING PAYNE TO WOLVES FOR PICK
That trade of Mo Williams and Troy Daniels wasn’t Minnesota’s only activity on Tuesday, though. Just after completing that deal, Minnesota filled its open roster spot by agreeing to trade a 2017 first-round pick to Atlanta for rookie power forward Adreian Payne.
Payne, the 15th overall pick in last June’s draft, has seen very limited opportunities on the loaded Hawks — having just played in three games this season at an average of 6 minutes per appearance. Payne, who starred at Michigan State in college, now returns to Big Ten country and should find more playing time in Minnesota, where developing young talent is clearly the priority.
The first-round pick the Wolves are sending the Hawks is lottery protected from 2017 through 2020, reports ESPN‘s Brian Windhorst.
From the Hawks’ standpoint, though, the trade may have a more immediate benefit. The team was already about $3 million under the cap this season, and moving Payne clears another $1.86 million — giving them almost $5 million in space. That could give them a leg up in negotiations with Ray Allen, who we know they’re after — or even Gary Neal, once he’s bought out.
In all, the Hawks (43-10) added a future 1st round pick to their warchest — always a valuable commodity in league negotiations — while simultaneously giving themselves an improved opportunity to add a bench shooter for the stretch run. In other words, the feel-good story of the 2014-15 NBA season may soon be getting even better.
OTHER NEWS AROUND THE NBA
Houston point guard Patrick Beverley was selected by the NBA to participate in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge that will take place on All-Star Saturday Night at the Barclays Center.
Beverley replaces John Wall, who is opting to rest Saturday instead of participating in the skills challenge. Wall will, of course, still participate in the league’s actual All-Star Game on Sunday.
The skills event now consists of Beverley, Trey Burke, Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, Kyle Lowry, Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Knight and Isaiah Thomas. The format calls for two players to compete simultaneously on an identical course with the fastest finisher reaching the next round. Four winners will advance to the second round, where two more head-to-head showdowns will determine the two finalists.
Beverley, who starts at point guard for the Rockets, is averaging a career-high 10.7 points in 30.9 minutes per game this season. He’s also averaging 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 39 total games.
Beverley will face off against Thomas in the first round of Saturday night’s competition.
The Miami Heat made it official on Tuesday: Dwyane Wade will miss the All-Star Game on Sunday due to his ongoing hamstring injury.
“I could play [tomorrow vs Cleveland], but it would not be the smart thing to do,” Wade said of his injury status. “We have a run to make after the All-Star break to solidify a playoff seed.”
Miami, currently the East’s No. 8 seed at 22-29, is just one game ahead of No. 9 Brooklyn (21-30) and is certainly in danger of missing the postseason. Wade has missed the team’s last six games — four of those losses — while resting the hamstring.
On the year as a whole, Wade is putting up 21.4 points and 5.4 assists in 32 minutes per game.
In terms of Wade’s roster replacement, it seems likely for commissioner Adam Silver to select whoever was next in line on the coaches secret ballots to fill the All-Star reserves — just as he did in tabbing DeMarcus Cousins and Damian Lillard to replace Kobe Bryant and Blake Griffin, respectively.
Atlanta sharpshooter Kyle Korver and Milwaukee guard Brandon Knight appear to be two of the most likely candidates to replace Wade on the Eastern Conference squad.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.