Marvin Williams' Regression is a Bad Sign for the Charlotte Hornets
After receiving a big pay day in the offseason, Marvin Williams has regressed this season and that could mean trouble for the Charlotte Hornets.
The Charlotte Hornets had high hopes for Marvin Williams after his career year last season but after signing a four-year, $54.5 million deal, his play has regressed in 2016. There is still time for him to turn things around but entering the later stages of his career, this may be the new norm for the power forward. This is a bad sign for the team if he can not pick things up.
Earlier this season, Jason Concepcion of The Ringer highlighted Marvin, among other NBA players, who were regressing in a post-contract year. The article looked at players that outplayed expectations in their contract year but since signing the deal, they have regressed like Williams has this season. Not only is this unfortunate for the Hornets because they gave him a lucrative contract but also because they rely heavily on him on both sides of the court.
He is a name stay in the starting lineup and a key figure in the way the team wants to play. His athleticism, physicality, and versatility bring a special element to the Hornets that gives them an advantage at the power forward position. After years of being labeled as a bust, Marvin was finally able to find his niche with Charlotte and as a part of Steve Clifford’s system.
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The big problem with his regression is that Williams has three more years on his contract after this season. At already 30-years of age, he isn’t getting any younger and his play could continue to dimish over the coming years. That means that the Hornets will be playing a weakening player over $13 million dollars a season.
While his numbers haven’t taken a major dip this season, there is a bit of a regression. The most notable part of Marvin’s game that has gone down is his rebounding, blocked shots, and shooting. Williams’ rebounds are way down, his blocks are considerably lower, and he is taking more shots this season while making less than he did last year. For whatever reason, the 6’9 power forward’s game has taken a hit all-around.
It is disappointing that a player of Marvin’s skill hasn’t quite figured things out so far this season. Maybe teams are zeroing in on him more. Maybe he is just slumping and will break out of it soon. Or maybe this is just the regression of an aging NBA player and this is just how Williams will play going forward.
Taking a look at his stats from last season to this year, you can easily see the downward trend of his numbers.
2015-16: 11.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.0 BPG, 45.2% FG/ 40.2% 3P/ 83.3% FT
2016-17: 10.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.4 BPG, 38.7% FG/ 35.5% 3P/ 81.6% FT
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Charlotte made a concerted effort to re-sign Williams as they let Jeremy Lin, Al Jefferson, and Courtney Lee leave in favor of bringing back Nicolas Batum as their main priority and then Marvin as their second. With the success that the team had last season, they were hoping to bring back enough talent to recreate that this year. After losing important players like Lin and Big Al, more of an onus was placed on Marvin Williams to live up to his contract.
So far, he has failed to do so.
Marvin still provides the essential role of being the team’s captain and leader but that can only go so far if his play continues to regress. Williams will need to play better or he risks being labeled as a player that did not live up to his contract and who was a bust of a signing. Maybe his career-year in last season’s campaign was a fluke because that is how it is looking.
His regression is a bad sign for this season in particular because if he does not turn things around, the team may not reach their goals of advancing in the postseason. But the concern goes far beyond that as it could be an issue for years to come.
Like I said before, the biggest issue with his regression is that Marvin is an aging player and the big contract that the Charlotte Hornets gave him could come back to haunt them down the road. For the sake of the team’s success, hopefully, Williams can return to the form that he had last season. It will be interesting to see if this is the new norm or if the quality of his performances will turn around.
