The Los Angeles Lakers believed they had secured their center of the future when they traded a significant package to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams. At 23, Williams seemed like the ideal long-term fit alongside Luka Doncic as a roll man and lob threat. However, that plan is now off the table.
On Saturday night, the trade between the Lakers and Hornets was rescinded due to the Hornets “failing to meet a condition of the trade,” which resulted in Williams returning to Charlotte and Dalton Knecht heading back to Los Angeles. The primary issue stemmed from Williams’ physical, where the Lakers identified multiple concerns.
Williams’ past injury struggles were well-known, but Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka did not anticipate a scenario like this. Before the physical was conducted, Pelinka expressed confidence in the trade, as reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“We fully vetted his health stuff, led by Dr. Kris Jones at UCLA Health and Dr. Leroy Sims on our team, and he’s had no surgeries,” Pelinka stated, per McMenamin. “So these are just parts of, he’s still growing into his body. We vetted the injuries he’s had, and we’re not concerned about those. We will have a chance to have a physical and continue to do a deep dive and make sure that what we’ve talked about and seen in the records. … So we’ll still have that step in the process of doing a full physical before the trade becomes official.”
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Ultimately, Williams’ health was not as promising as the Lakers had hoped, forcing the trade to be called off. Because the failed physical came to light after the trade deadline, neither team had the chance to renegotiate or adjust the deal, meaning the trade is now completely void.
This leaves the Lakers in a tough position, as they still have a glaring need at center for the remainder of the season. Their interior options are now limited to Jaxson Hayes and Christian Koloko, a risky situation heading into the playoffs. While the Lakers will likely be active in the buyout market to find another center, their financial restrictions will make that a challenging task.
On the bright side, getting Knecht back adds a reliable wing shooter that LeBron James and Doncic can utilize to generate offense. However, with size already a major concern before the trade, this situation only amplifies that issue.
