The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired guard Gary Neal and a 2019 second-round draft pick from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for guards Mo Williams and Troy Daniels.
Neal, 30, is averaging 9.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 43 games for Charlotte this season. The pick the Wolves acquired was originally acquired by Charlotte from the Miami Heat in a draft day trade last summer.
“In moving Mo, we felt it was important to get a proven scorer and three-point shooter like Gary,” said Wolves president of basketball operations/head coach Flip Saunders. “Gary was a solid rotation player with San Antonio for three years and an important contributor in the Spurs’ playoff runs. We also get a second round pick, which is another future asset for us.”
Williams, 32, is averaging 12.2 points and 6.4 assists in 41 games this season, while the 23-year-old Daniels is averaging 2.8 points in 7.3 minutes per game this season. Daniels was acquired from the Houston Rockets on Dec. 23.
Williams joined the Wolves this season after spending the 2013-14 season with the Portland Trailblazers. The 12th-year veteran is averaging 13.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in his career.
“This was a difficult decision because of what Mo brought to our team and the impact he had on our young guys,” said Saunders. “As a coach, you wanted to keep him because of his professionalism and understanding of what you wanted out of him as a player. He scored 52 points against Indiana and did everything we asked him to do. On the other side, we knew we were moving in a different direction with our youth so we felt it was in our best interest to make the deal. We thank Mo and Troy for their contributions and wish them the best of luck in Charlotte.