Many think of Marvin Williams as the guy the Hawks drafted ahead of Chris Paul in 2005, but the former North Carolina wing who went No. 2 overall in that draft has carved out a nice niche for himself in the NBA as a 3&D guy who doesn’t mind taking a back seat to his teammates. Well, that extends to contract negotiations, too. Despite $15-million-a-year offers, per Adrian Wojnarowski at The Vertical, Williams re-signed in Charlotte for four years at $54.5 million, sacrificing more than a million a year over the length of the deal, which has a player option in the final year.
According to Wojnarowski’s sources, Williams sacrificed a few million ($6.5 over the four years) because he was comfortable in Charlotte and liked head coach Steve Clifford. Plus, he wanted to help build on an optimistic 2015-16 season.
Marvin Williams has agreed to a four-year, $54.5M deal to return to the Charlotte Hornets, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2016
Williams had offers in the $15M a year range, but has loved playing in Charlotte and deal allows them to keep building roster.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2016
With Williams and Nicolas Batum re-signed, the Hornets present an interesting look for opponents on the wing. Combined with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, they can throw an opposing set of nimble, long defenders who can guard multiple positions and switch a ton of pick-and-roll’s without sacrificing a big mismatch. That, plus Williams had a career high player efficiency rating and true shooting percentage last season and the Hornets hope he’ll continue that solid play through the next few years.
With Jeremy Lin headed to Brooklyn and Al Jefferson in Indy, Charlotte is now trying to shore up their second team’s backcourt and add a big.
Charlotte is trying to find a guard to replace Jeremy Lin in rotation and a backup center.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2016
