The Los Angeles Lakers have rescinded the trade to acquire Charlotte Hornets big man Mark Williams after he failed the team’s physical, per Shams Charania. The trade, widely seen as a massive win for the Lakers who had the intention of pairing Williams with newly acquired superstar Luka Doncic, won’t go through due to what the Lakers officially say is a “failure to satisfy a condition of the trade” on the Hornets‘ part.
The Lakers had traded Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a first-round swap in 2030 and an unprotected first-round pick in 2031 to the Hornets in exchange for Williams, but, per Charania, “multiple issues” showed up on Williams’ physical that caused the team to pull an UNO reverse on the deal. As a result, Williams will go back to the Hornets, and Knecht, Reddish and the draft capital will go back to the Lakers.
This is a rare situation, because had Williams’ failed physical happened prior to the expiration of the trade deadline, the deal could’ve been amended. But since the deadline has passed, the Lakers’ only options were to either keep the deal as is, which means retaining what sounds like an injured Williams on the roster, or call the whole thing off. L.A. has opted for the latter, leaving them without an impactful starting center for the rest of the season unless they can find one on the buyout market.
It’s a significant blow to the Lakers since Williams was seen as the ideal vertical spacing big to pair with Doncic, who thrived in Dallas when he had a lob threat out of the pick-and-roll. Williams was that, and at 23 years old was on a similar timeline to Doncic. However, it appears as though his injuries were worse than what the Lakers were expecting. He’s played just 23 games this season due to a foot injury, and also dealt with a back issue that completely derailed his sophomore season, limiting him to 19 games. Though Charania reports the issues in his physical didn’t pertain to his back.
Without Williams, the Lakers will now have to turn to the buyout market to find a serviceable big. Some options that come to mind are Mo Bamba, who was waived by the Utah Jazz after being traded by the Clippers before the deadline. Kelly Olynyk would be another option after being traded from the Raptors to the Pelicans, though it’s not clear if New Orleans’ plan is to keep him on the roster for the rest of the season. Veteran Daniel Theis was also recently waived after being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Whoever the Lakers decide on, they likely won’t find someone on the buyout market that is going to do the things they had envisioned Williams would do for them. But on the bright side, L.A. now gets Knecht and that first-round pick back to potentially use for another center that fits perfectly with Doncic — and can provide better defense than Williams would have — this summer.
