What are the Implications of Mark Williams Foot Injury for the Hornets?

The impact Williams' injury has on the Charlotte Hornets.

Austin Leake | Sep 28, 2024

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

Just when it felt like the Charlotte Hornets were heading in the right direction all around, it was announced by the team that Mark Williams suffered an injury to his left foot during an offseason workout on Thursday and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

Williams spent the majority of last season dealing with a lower back injury and there was a lot of concern already with that issue. Now adding on the new injury to his foot, which just adds a whole new level of concern with the 22-year-old center. Training camp was less than a week away, which makes this even more difficult for Williams and the team to handle since he hasn't been able to ramp up his activity on the court due to previous back issues. Let's get into what this injury means for the Hornets.

For one, the Hornets first preseason game is October 6th, which means he will miss not only the team's training camp, but also most if not the entire preseason. The Hornets first regular season game is just under a month out on October 23rd, which gives him a chance to return for the season opener for the Hornets. Now, the concern for most is wondering if his timeline for re-evaluation will be accurate. Last season, there were many complaints as Williams was listed as doubtful or questionable on the injury report before being ruled out for the remainder of the season.

As far as a roster standpoint, this ultimately means that Nick Richards will play a similar role as he did last year as the starting center when Williams was out. As well, the Hornets added a couple of new big men to the team throughout the last couple of months with veteran Taj Gibson, Moussa Diabate who is on a two-way contract, and just recently signed Harry Giles III. Training camp should give a clearer image of who will step up in the time that Williams is sidelined. However, the new management did seem to address the center depth in the off-season, which was a plus, but I'm sure they weren't expecting to have an injury setback before the season even began.

Another negative impact this has on the team is just chemistry in general. With new head coach Charles Lee, I'm sure he's as disappointed as just about anyone as he was looking forward to getting to work with Williams and incorporating him into what he has planned on the defensive end and with the pick-and-roll with LaMelo Ball. One of the most important factors when returning from an injury is being able to get into a rhythm and comfortable again and in a way this injury couldn't have come at a worse time as training camp would've been perfect for him to get accustomed to the new team and get his conditioning under him. Now, with his return likely after the season gets underway, it makes his return to gameplay even more difficult.

Williams is easily one of the most impactful players on the Hornets and this injury really holds the team back from reaching their full potential since there's an entire new coaching staff in place that won't be able to get him involved with his teammates, while he's sidelined. The hope is that Williams will be able to return before the season starts, but with it being a new injury, it leaves fans and the team with a lot of unanswered questions similar to last year.

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