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February 10, 2015 – Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has acquired guards Mo Williams and Troy Daniels, along with cash considerations, from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for guard Gary Neal and Miami’s 2019 second-round draft pick. In addition, the Hornets have released Elliot Williams from his 10-day contract. The Hornets roster remains at 15 players.
“We are excited to be adding two quality players to our organization,” Cho said. “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. Troy Daniels is an outstanding shooter who we are already familiar with from having had him in our training camp last season.”
The 47th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Williams is in his 12th NBA season. He has played in 750 career games for the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves. An Eastern Conference All-Star in 2008-09, Williams has career averages of 13.3 points, 5.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 29.7 minutes, while shooting .436 from the field (3758-8611), .382 from beyond the three-point line (998-2611) and .869 from the free-throw line (1442-1660). He ranks sixth among active players in career free-throw percentage and 24th in NBA history.
Williams played in 41 games for Minnesota this season, starting 19, with averages of 12.2 points, 6.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 28.0 minutes. He shot .403 from the field (180-447), .347 from beyond the three-point line (59-170) and .851 from the free-throw line (80-94). Williams scored in double figures in 23 of the 41 games, including eight games of 20 points or more, and handed out double-figure assists nine times, tallying eight double-doubles. He was named Western Conference Player of the Week for Jan. 12-18 after scoring a career-high 52 points on Jan. 13 at Indiana.
Daniels is in his second NBA season, having played in 41 career games for Houston and Minnesota after not being selected in the 2013 NBA Draft. Daniels, who was in training camp with Charlotte prior to the 2013-14 NBA season, has a career average of 3.4 points on .358 shooting from the field (49-137), including .355 from beyond the three-point line (38-107). He began this season in Houston before being traded to Minnesota on Dec. 19 as part of a three-team deal.
Daniels also saw action in 48 games last season for Houston’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, where he was selected for the D-League All-Star Game and earned Third Team All-D-League honors. He averaged 21.5 points, 4.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 35.4 minutes, while shooting .422 from the field (232-766), .402 from beyond the three-point line (240-599) and .816 from the free-throw line (146-179). Daniels led the D-League in three-point field goals and three-point field goal attempts and ranked third in total points scored.
Currently in his fifth NBA season, Neal was acquired last February in a trade with Milwaukee. He played in 65 games for Charlotte, averaging 10.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 22.1 minutes. Neal saw action in 43 games for the Hornets this season, with averages of 9.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 21.7 minutes.