Hornets reserve ahead Grant Williams tore his ACL, meniscus and different linked ligaments in his proper knee throughout his group’s 125-119 loss to the Bucks on Saturday night time, sources inform Shams Charania of ESPN. He’ll now miss the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA season.
The 25-year-old was within the midst of a productive second season in Charlotte. Throughout his 16 wholesome video games this 12 months whereas taking part in behind starters Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges, Williams averaged 10.4 factors on .439/.365/.838 capturing splits. He additionally logged 5.1 rebounds and a couple of.3 assists an evening.
The Tennessee alum was initially chosen by the Celtics with the No. 22 general choose within the 2019 draft. He had some memorable moments with Boston, however was stricken by capturing inconsistency within the postseason. A bit undersized for his defensive assignments at 6’6″, Williams in the end moved on to the Mavericks as a restricted free agent in the summertime of 2023. He inked a four-year, $53.3M deal as a part of a three-team sign-and-trade.
That experiment lasted simply 47 video games earlier than he was traded once more. As a part of a transformative 2023-24 midseason deal, Williams was shipped out, together with guard Seth Curry and a future first-round draft choose, to the Hornets in trade for P.J. Washington. With Washington in tow, the Mavericks marched all the way in which to the NBA Finals.
Charlotte at present has all 15 commonplace roster spots occupied. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes, the group would want to waive a participant, however afterwards it could be capable of file for a disabled participant exception price half Williams’ wage, or $6.5M, and signal somebody into that.
At 6-10, the Hornets are at present the No. 11 seed within the Jap Convention, tied by report with the Nets and Pacers. Dropping Williams is a serious blow to their bench depth.
