The Los Angeles Lakers made two big trades ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline, but only one of them, the Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis deal, will actually go through.
Late Wednesday night the Lakers made another splash by trading for Mark Williams of the Hornets to fill their vacancy at center. The Lakers sent a first round pick, a pick swap, and Dalton Knecht to Charlotte in the deal, as they made an aggressive move for Williams, assuming he would be their version of Dereck Lively II, who Doncic thrived with in Dallas. However, on Saturday, Williams did not appeared on the Lakers roster or injury report, and we learned why later that night as the teams announced the trade had been rescinded.
According to Bobby Marks, the deal was contingent on physicals being passed and since the deadline was already over, the trade couldn’t be amended. While the teams did not disclose the exact reason, the issue was reportedly Williams’ physical, per Shams Charania, as the Lakers failed it due to a few issues. Williams has had a number of injuries in the past that have limited him to 84 games played in his 2.5 seasons. There are some trades where physicals get waived, but this instance, with how much the Lakers were investing to make the trade, it was contingent on both players passing team physicals. With that not happening to the satisfaction of the Lakers, the trade has been rescinded and now one of the most awkward scenarios in sports will play out with Knecht returning to LA and Williams returning to Charlotte. The Hornets, in an attempt to get in front of that situation, released a statement welcoming Williams back and saying “the other team” came at them with such an aggressive offer they couldn’t refuse.
We are excited to welcome Mark back to our Hornets organization. After the other team aggressively pursued Mark, we made the difficult decision to move him. We have always held great respect for Mark’s talent, work ethic, and character. We are thrilled to see him rejoin our roster as a dynamic presence at the starting center position. His return strengthens our team, and we look forward to the impact he will make on and off the court.
The Lakers now have to find a new answer for their center spot on the buyout market, while the Hornets traded for Jusuf Nurkic and figured to give him a chance to restore some value in the second half of the season with plenty of center minutes available.
