The trade between the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers has been rescinded due to failure to satisfy a condition of the trade, the team announced. The trade was supposed to send Mark Williams to the Lakers in exchange for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2023 pick swap and a 2031 unprotected first round pick.
Because the trade deadline has passed, the trade cannot be amended and has to be rescinded.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Lakers failed Williams’ physical exam, which is why the deal is not going down as originally expected:
Mark Williams' physical with the Lakers showed multiple issues and the team failed him on the exam, sources tell ESPN. The physical was not failed due to his back, however. https://t.co/lY4XrSIlHf
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 9, 2025
Williams has a long medical history that has limited him in his NBA career, but the early indications were that the Lakers were not concerned when they completed the deal. Obviously once their doctors looked at Williams though, things changed.
The timing of this is not ideal as the Lakers have won five straight and had legit championship aspirations with the additions of Luka Doncic and Williams.
Now, the team is very thin at the center position for the rest of the season since the deadline has passed and they can’t pull off another deal.
It’s possible the Lakers bring in another big man off the buyout market, but the options aren’t great and they no longer have an open roster spot to work with since Knecht and Reddish are returning to L.A.
Barring a significant addition, Jaxson Hayes will remain the Lakers’ starting center with two-way players Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III backing him up. Christian Wood and Maxi Kleber could be options down the road but are currently dealing with injuries.
Things could also be a bit awkward with Knecht and Reddish returning to the team, although the latter could be waived if the Lakers want to sign another center.
On the bright side, the Lakers still have a talented young player in Knecht on their roster and their draft assets back if they want to make a move of the summer.
Rob Pelinka previously discussed Lakers’ addition of Mark Williams
Although the Mark Williams trade is no longer happening, general manager Rob Pelinka discussed the addition after the trade originally went down.
“He’s got great hands, catches the ball above the rim, can finish, gives us a defensive paint presence,” Pelinka said. “There’s a lot of teams in the West that have formidable size that are around the standings with us, Memphis and Houston and OKC. And we just felt like we needed to address that, and we felt like we got the perfect guy.”
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