There’s no question that point guard Mo Williams has been a great asset to the Charlotte Hornets this year. He was brought in mainly to be a player that could pick up the slack for Kemba Walker while he sat out with an injury, and what was expected of him was to be equal to Walker. It seemed like the expectations for Walker were really set quite low, especially for someone with so much NBA experience. For me at least, Williams shattered those expectations.

Since getting traded to the Hornets by the Timberwolves, Williams has averaged over 20 points per game and been a huge reason that the Hornets have won some big games, against teams like the Chicago Bulls.

According to Spotrac, Williams’ nearly $4 million salary is up after this season. Since he was brought in merely to cover for Walker, there wasn’t much of a reason to extend Williams’ contract at the time. Now, however, Williams is proving to be a player that the Hornets may want to keep around. Williams and the Hornets both have decisions to make. Should Williams test the free agency market that his all too familiar with? Should the Hornets pursue a deal with him?

There’s no doubt, that if the Hornets go after Williams this offseason, the unrestricted free agent will ask for more money than he made this year. After all, an increase in production in any job should result in an increase in pay, right? Williams is no stranger to a larger contract, either. In 2012, he was making close to $7 million with the Los Angeles Clippers.

So, then the Hornets must decide if Williams is worth the extra money. He’s certainly shown this year that he’s got the ability to put up successful numbers, and has really bounced up from his season average of 14 points per game since he arrived in Charlotte. The big if on a larger contract will be if Williams is able to keep production like this up, even next year with a healthy Walker back in the picture.

Another key thing to remember about Williams’ free agency that will come soon enough is that he could be considered an NBA drifter. While he’s consistently put up decent numbers for over 10 years now, Williams has played for seven different teams, and rarely finds residency with a team for more than three years.

His spur of team swapping has occurred even more lately. Since the 2012-13 season, Williams has played on four different teams. This certainly leads some to believe Williams will be looking for work elsewhere once his contract is up this year.

It’s clear that the Hornets want Williams to stick around next year. Head coach Steve Clifford has expressed that they will be playing Walker and Williams together. I believe this will be a considered a trial run of sorts, in order to see if two “star” point guards is too much for one team.

It very well could be too many point guards for one team. But, there is the option of trying Williams out at shooting guard. The Hornets shooting guard position has been a bit dismal this year, as there’s been disappointment in P.J. Hairston and Lance Stephenson. Gerald Henderson does show some promise in that position, though.

Williams is definitely worth the money, but with Walker on the team as well, I’m not sure he will get enough minutes to be worth the money. Given that Williams is a drifter, it will be interesting to see if he wants to commit to Charlotte this offseason or not.