Marvin Williams Q&A with Purple and Blues

The Charlotte Hornets recently signed former Tar Heel Marvin Williams to a 2 year, $14 million dollar contract.

If you are a UNC fan you might be a little familiar with Marvin Williams. To get to know more about Marvin and his style of play, we talked with Cody Powers of Purple and Blues, a Utah Jazz site on the Fansided network.

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Here are the questions and answers from our interview with Cody Powers:

1. What is Marvin Williams’ biggest strength in your opinion?

Cody Powers – Marvin can play a lot of different roles. With the Atlanta Hawks, he primarily played the small forward role. When he was here with the Jazz, he started off playing there, and then was moved to power forward in more of a “stretch four” type role. His biggest strength, in my opinion, is his ability to play both positions. When you have a player that can do that for your team, it opens up a lot more possibilities on offense. I really like how Marvin fits in Charlotte, and I think he can help out the Hornets in whatever role coach Clifford puts him in.

2. What is Marvin Williams’ biggest weakness?

Cody Powers – Marvin’s biggest weakness might have to be his inconsistency. When he is on, Marvin is a fantastic player. When he is off, which happens quite a bit more than when he is on, you leave yourself scratching your head at him. I hate to say that because I like Marvin so much, but his inconsistency was very frustrating to say the least. Defensively, he could use a little work as well, but most the time when he struggled defensively in Utah was when he was playing the “stretch four” position, and had to defend power forwards who were bruisers down low. However, guarding small forwards, he seems to be about a step slow on most nights, so things like that could frustrate Hornets fans.

3. How much of an impact will Marvin Williams have on the Hornets next season?

Cody Powers – I really like what the Hornets have done this off season, and signing Marvin was one of those things I liked for them. After the Hornets grabbed Big Al Jefferson last off season, after the Jazz let him walk, you knew things were looking up in Charlotte. Big Al is one of the best centers in the league, and he makes other players better. Kemba Walker is a good young point guard, and signing Lance Stephenson to play alongside him was a great move. With the draft picks that the Hornets have added along to that mix, I think Marvin fits right in with them. His biggest impact might be off the court though, as Marvin is one of the greatest locker room guys in the NBA. He is still really in the prime of his career, and can come in and provide leadership. The young guys in Utah loved having Marvin in the locker room, and that is something we will definitely miss. On the court, Marvin had some struggles, but maybe going back to North Carolina, where he played college, will help him perform more like he did when he was in college and became the number two overall draft pick. 

4. Was signing Marvin Williams a good move for the Hornets? Or were there better options for them?

Cody Powers – I think signing Marvin was a good move for Charlotte. I think he brings another veteran leadership presence that Charlotte’s young players will need to have on the court. He also spent a season in Utah with Big Al and are very good friends. Depending on what role the Hornets use him in could determine whether or not there were better options. If they use him primarily as a small forward, then there were probably better options, including another Jazz man who the Hornets tried to snag in Gordon Hayward. With Paul Pierce signing a 2-year, $11 million deal with the Washington Wizards, that could have been another alternative for Charlotte had they pursued it. If they play him as a “stretch four”, then I see him as one of the better “stretch four”‘s that was on the market. If the Hornets wanted to go with another young guy to play that role, a guy like Ryan Kelly could have been a good fit, but I still would have preferred Marvin.  

5. Is there anything about Marvin Williams that people don’t know? Do you consider his skill-set to be underrated or overrated?

Cody Powers – I think Marvin is going to do pretty well in Charlotte, but his game isn’t going to surprise a lot of people. The most underrated part of his game might be his outside shooting. Marvin had a lot of games last year when his three point shooting was lacking. When the inconsistency was in effect, people looked past his outside shooting, but he actually shot a really good percentage from beyond the three point line for the season. If he gets consistent on that shot, it could be great for Charlotte. Big Al likes to get the ball on the block, and when the double team comes, most of the time he forces the shot. However though, when he kicks it out, Marvin could be wide open, and that could be a great thing for the Hornets if he is shooting consistently.

As far as overrated goes, I think Marvin has been looked at as overrated his entire career. When he came out of North Carolina and was drafted second overall, ahead of guys like Deron Williams and Chris Paul, Marvin hasn’t lived up to the expectations of a number two pick. He will be a solid role player for Charlotte, but if you are looking at him as playing like a number two draft pick, then he will quickly become overrated with the Hornets.

6. Should Marvin Williams start for the Hornets? Could he start at SF over MKG is he starts to decline?

Cody Powers – I think Marvin should and will start for the Hornets. I don’t know much about what the media has said in Charlotte, but just looking at the roster, I like how Marvin fits with the starting unit. I think Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a very athletic young wing player, but I’m not sure if he is a better option than Marvin. I think Kemba, Lance, Marvin, Cody Zeller, and Big Al is a very good starting five for Charlotte, better than their starting five last year that made the playoffs. If Marvin does start though, I think the bench will be pretty young and that could hurt them. If it comes down to making a choice between Marvin and MKG though, I think Marvin is a better option offensively, but MKG might be a better option defensively. Tough call.