Hornets' Marvin Williams will start at power forward over Cody Zeller
Marvin Williams will start at power forward for the Charlotte Hornets, head coach Steve Clifford said at the team's media day Monday.
Williams spent the last two seasons with the Jazz and signed a two-year deal with Charlotte in July. He averaged 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season and started 50 of the 66 games he played in. Williams was the second pick of the 2005 draft after spending one season at the University of North Carolina.
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Zeller was taken with the fourth pick in the 2013 draft by Charlotte, then known as the Bobcats. He appeared in all 82 games as a rookie and made three starts. He averaged 6.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game and was named to the All-Rookie team.
Zeller will also see time at center, behind starter Al Jefferson.
Rookie Noah Vonleh, the ninth selection in this year's draft, will also fight for minutes at the power forward spot.
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Josh McRoberts started 78 games at power forward for Charlotte last season, but signed with the Heat in free agency.
Clifford says he has not yet determined his team's full starting lineup. Lance Stephenson, who signed with Charlotte in July, will start at one wing, but there is a competition to see who will start on the opposite wing, Clifford said. Candidates include Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, PJ Hairston, Gerald Henderson and Gary Neal.
Jeffery Taylor, another wing, is currently suspended indefinitely after he was arrested and charged with domestic assault.
The Charlotte franchise was renamed the Hornets this summer after entering the league as the Bobcats in 2004. The franchise also reclaimed the history of the previous Hornets franchise, which played in Charlotte from 1988 to 2002 before moving to New Orleans.
- Dan Gartland
