Charlotte Hornets could be without two key starters for 2024-25 season opener vs. Houston
When the Charlotte Hornets begin their first season under Charles Lee on Wednesday, they’ll be without a pretty significant piece of their team puzzle.
As expected, Mark Williams is listed as out for the opener against the Houston Rockets, the team officially announced Tuesday. Josh Green is questionable with a sore left Achilles.
Green’s appearance on the injury report is a slight surprise, given the Hornets had been trying to manage his minutes during the preseason since he logged so much time in the NBA Finals with Dallas and again months later for his native Australia in the Paris Olympics. He didn’t play in the Hornets’ final two preseason outings.
Williams, the starting center who missed most of 2023-24 with a back problem, sprained a tendon in his left foot during workouts last month, just days before the start of training camp at Duke University.
The Hornets say Williams has begun doing on-court activities and is progressing in his rehabilitation. However, no timeline was given for his return to game action.
Williams missed most of last season because of what was initially termed a lower back contusion, playing in only 19 games. He’s a key part of the Hornets’ rotation and is expected to be a rim protector and an overall force in the paint under Lee.
Joining Williams and Green on the injured list is recently-acquired DaQuan Jeffries. Jeffries, who came to the Hornets in the multi-team trade that sent Karl Anthony-Towns to New York, suffered a fractured right fifth metacarpal in the Hornets’ Oct. 8 preseason matchup with Miami.
In the deal bringing Jeffries to Charlotte, Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson also collected three second-round picks, Charlie Brown Jr., Duane Washington Jr., and cash considerations in exchange for the NBA Draft rights of center James Nnaji.
Brown and Washington have since been waived.
This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 6:01 PM.
