One of the more puzzling parts of the trade deadline earlier this month was when the Lakers announced that their trade to acquire big man Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets was rescinded just 48 hours after it was announced. It was a head-scratcher given the positive marks the Lakers received for pulling off the deal, which sent Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and a future first-round draft pick to Charlotte.
The Lakers cited multiple issues with Williams’ physical and felt Charlotte failed to “satisfy a condition of the trade.” In basic terms, it seems like the Lakers believed the Hornets weren’t transparent about the extent of Williams’ injuries, and after he was assessed by the Lakers’ medical staff, they gave the advice to not go through with the trade. The Hornets have since contacted the league office to dispute the trade being rescinded, though there’s likely not much that will come of it.
As a result, the players involved in the deal have had to endure the very awkward situation of being traded, only to be told “oh, just kidding” in the span of 48 hours. And although a week has passed since they were returned to their original teams, it’s still a topic of conversation — especially when the Lakers and Hornets faced off Wednesday night, which resulted in a 100-97 win for Charlotte.
Hornets disputing Lakers’ decision to rescind Mark Williams trade, in contact with NBA, per report
Sam Quinn
While speaking to media ahead of that game in Los Angeles, Williams was very open in his assessment of being involved in such a weird situation.
“My agent told me [that the trade was rescinded],” Williams said per the Charlotte Observer. “I didn’t think I had failed my physical. That didn’t even cross my mind. The night I got traded I played hella minutes. I didn’t think in any world that was possible. Since I’ve been back since the start of the year, I’ve played games with a lot of minutes. I feel like every injury I’ve had has been well-documented and I’ve recovered and been 100% since. So, I don’t know what went into that decision. I think that’s up to them.”
The whole ordeal was an emotional ride for Williams.
“You went from shocked to excited, back to shocked. You control what you can control,” he said.
Williams’ agent, Jeff Schwartz also spoke about the situation, saying Thursday that “the overwhelming sentiment, after conferring with multiple, nationally recognized doctors, is that the Los Angeles Lakers should not have failed Mark Williams on his physical.”
Schwartz went on to say that, “Mark was ready and able to play for them and should have been given that opportunity.”
Williams does have a lengthy injury history, including being limited to just 19 games a season ago due to a back injury, and only logging 23 games this season because of a foot issue. However, he played in three consecutive games leading up to the trade with no issues, and only missed games if it was a back-to-back. On Charlotte’s side, there was no reason to believe he was dealing with any injury.
The Lakers haven’t revealed much of what was found during Williams’ physical, and we’ll likely never know that information, but it is a strange situation. Had the Lakers felt uncomfortable going through with the trade as is prior to the deadline passing, the deal could have been amended. But because that information was reported after the deadline, the only option for L.A. was to keep Williams or to completely call the deal off.
The Lakers opted for the latter, though it sounds as though from Charlotte’s side of things there’s some tension about the situation. We’ll have to see if the league steps in on this matter, though given it’s been a week since the whole ordeal happened, it would be shocking that Adam Silver would say that the trade can’t be rescinded. At the very least, perhaps the Lakers get fined, though that’s a slap on the wrist if it is found that they basically just had buyer’s remorse.
