Charlotte Hornets' start to training camp is less than ideal with key injury

Charlotte Hornets' promising big man is off to another less-than-ideal start to his season as training camps open.

With training camps opening this week, it's only natural to begin to get excited for the 2024-25 NBA season. One Eastern Conference team who should continue to be encouraged by the development of their young core is the Charlotte Hornets. But despite the optimism surrounding this team heading into the start of the new season, there has to be growing concern for one of their key young pieces.

Mark Williams, who has shown promise in the past, is beginning the season on the sideline as he has a strained tendon in his foot. He's expected to be reevaluated in two weeks but he's going to miss training camp and the start of the pre-season. In a phrase, this is not great news.

Heading into this third season with the team, big things are expected from Williams this year. However, even despite how productive and impressive he's been when on the floor for the team, he's struggled with injuries through the first two seasons of his career. The fact that his third season could be starting with another injury is not good news for his outlook heading into this year.

Mark Williams has been unable to shake the injury bug

Over the first two years of his career, Williams has missed a combined 102 regular season games. Some of that has been due to being in and out of the rotation during his rookie season but the fact that he missed nearly all of last season due to a lingering back issue is far from ideal. It's a shame considering how good Williams looked at the start of the season, averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds through the 19 games he was able to play.

In theory, the hope is that Williams is able to shake off the injury bug and cement himself as the long-term answer for the team at the center position. But as he continues to battle injuries, it's impossible for the Hornets to rely on him to any extent.

Even though there aren't a ton of expectations on the shoulders of the Hornets heading into the start of the season, there's no question that this pre-season injury to Williams is going to make things a tad more difficult for a team that was attempting to take a step forward this year.