Charlotte Hornets look to Terry Rozier, Marvin Williams for leadership

Charlotte Hornets Head Coach James Borrego has identified two leaders for the team going into the 2019-20 season  — Terry Rozier and Marvin Williams.

If you don’t have leadership in the NBA, then you aren’t going to accomplish anything. After losing Kemba Walker to Boston in free agency, the Charlotte Hornets need someone to step up in that department.

Well, it appears that they have may have found two leaders as they prepare for training camp. During a media luncheon on Tuesday, James Borrego told reporters that he’s looking for Terry Rozier and Marvin Williams to be the leaders on this team:

"“I’m going to need another leader or two to step up. Right now, I’m looking at Marvin Williams. Terry’s got to step up in that leadership role. Obviously, I’m going to have to lead the group as we try to establish a full-time leader in the house. But those are significant leaders not only on the court, but in the locker room and behind the scenes.”"

Rozier and Williams are two of the better players on the roster, and are good choices to lead by Borrego. Rozier is only going into his fifth NBA season, but he’s been around championship contending teams in Boston, while Williams is entering his fifteenth(!) season in the NBA. That speaks for itself, honestly.

During the 2018-19 season, Rozier averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists, while Williams averaged 10.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

Throughout his career, Williams has always been a leader and a great veteran presence, particularly during his time with Utah and, of course, Charlotte. He just never really got the label because of Kemba Walker’s on and off court stature.

This will be a different kind of role for Rozier, though. It’s a season of change for the 25 year old, as he will now hold the keys to an offense as a starting point guard, but for a rebuilding team. He will be heavily depended upon both on and off the court.

Over the past eight years, Charlotte Hornets fans have been blessed to have Kemba Walker, or “The Captain”, as many like to call him. He only managed to see playoff basketball twice, but he brought a stable voice to the team and his teammates fed off his positive energy. He will be missed incredibly, but like Borrego said, a new leader(s) must step up.

Other veterans on the Hornets roster, like Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Cody Zeller will also be leaned on, considering the majority of the roster is young and inexperienced.

It’s hard to win in this league without leadership. That’s why you saw a young team like the Chicago Bulls go out and acquire a key veteran in Thaddeus Young. Young was the team captain on the Indiana Pacers last season and played a huge role for a team built by togetherness.

Time will tell if Terry Rozier and Marvin Williams are the right players for the job. I see them both stepping up and making major impacts on the court, but also off the court, with Williams being the key leader.